UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 8 -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Major General Cheryl Pearce of Australia as Force Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), his spokespersons' office said in a statement.
Pearce succeeds Mohammad Humayun Kabir of Bangladesh, who completed his assignment on Oct. 6, 2018. The secretary-general is grateful to Kabir for his dedication and leadership during his two years of service in UNFICYP, the statement said.
Pearce has had a distinguished career in the Australian Defence Force, most recently as Commandant of the Australian Defence Force Academy (since 2017), which provides undergraduate and postgraduate education as well as military training and education for future leaders of the Navy, Army and Air Force.
In 2016, Pearce was the Commander of the Australian Joint Task Force Group in Afghanistan providing training, advice and assistance to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces as part of the Resolute Support Mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. From 2013 to 2016, she served as the Australian Army Headquarters chief of staff and, and from 2010 to 2017, as director of Special Operations Support.
Pearce was also the Australian Army's Provost-Marshal and a military observer with the UN Mission of Support in East Timor in 2002.
Pearce holds a bachelor of arts in Asian studies from the University of New England in Armidale, a master's in policing, intelligence and counter-terrorism from the Macquarie University in Sydney, and a master's of arts in defense studies from the Deakin University in Melbourne.
Pearce was born in South Australia. She has a partner and two daughters.