United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon has named Italian Major General Luciano
Portolano to head the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Portolano, 54, will succeed his countryman Major General
Paolo Serra, who is leaving the post on July 24 after
two-and-a-half years.
A native of the Sicilian city of Agrigento, Portolano
previously commanded the International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) Regional Command West in Afghanistan.
Last week he received the Legion of Merit, a military award
from the United States Armed Forces, for exceptionally
meritorious conduct in Afghanistan.
Portolano also served as commander in Iraq, Kosovo, and the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
He was one of three candidates for the UNIFIL post, along
with generals from Finland and Nepal.
Italy is the fourth-largest financial supporter of UN
peacekeeping missions and has contributed some 10,100 soldiers
to UNIFIL, making it one of the main troop contributors to the
multinational force which was established in 1978 to monitor the
border between Lebanon and Israel.
This is the third time an Italian general is given the
UNIFIL command since 2007, after the three-year mandate of
General Claudio Graziano, now the Chief of the Staff of the
Italian Army.
UNIFIL was created by the UN Security Council in March
1978, which further enhanced UNIFIL in 2006.
In a communique, Ban expressed gratitude to Serra for "his
excellent service and leadership of UNIFIL".
Monday's appointment came on the eve of an international
conference in Rome to support the Lebanese Armed Forces.
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