United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union Chairperson Ms. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced today the appointment of Lieutenant General Paul Ignace Mella of Tanzania as the Force Commander of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

Lieutenant General Mella will replace Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba of Rwanda, who completed his assignment on 31 March 2013. The Secretary-General would like to take this opportunity to express his deep appreciation to Lieutenant General Nyamvumba for his dedication and invaluable service during his tenure in UNAMID.

Lieutenant General Mella brings with him a long and distinguished career with the Tanzanian military, most recently serving as the Chief of Defence Intelligence Organization in Dar es Salaam. Prior to this, he has held a number of important operational, command and staff positions, including as Director of Foreign Intelligence in the Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Forces, Commanding Officer of an Infantry Battalion in the United Nations Mission in Liberia and Defence Adviser at the Tanzania High Commission in the Republic of Uganda.

Lieutenant General Mella has a Masters in Security and Strategic Studies from the South African National Defence College.

Born in Moshi in 1955, Lieutenant General Mella is married and has three children.