Lieutenant General Humphrey Nyone

Force Commander

Cavalry officer who joined the Zambian army in 1994, Lieutenant General Humphrey Nyone was appointed MINUSCA Force Commander by the UN Secretary-General on 15 May 2023.

A distinguished General with over 29 years' experience in the Zambian Armed Forces, he has risen through the ranks at both operational and strategic unit level. Prior to his appointment, he was Commander of the Staff College, where he was responsible for the pedagogical supervision and imparting of knowledge to trainee officers in military strategy, as well as directing the development of the College's strategic plans and budgets. As Commander of the Staff College of the Zambian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General H. Nyone was instrumental in planning a number of military exercises, such as "Southern Accords", in collaboration with the United States Africa Command (US AFRICOM).

He was also successively Commander of the 1st Infantry Division, Director General of Policy, Doctrine and Strategy of the Army HQ, Commander of the 6th Armored Brigade, Commander of the 64th Armored Regiment and Commander of the Armored School.

Lieutenant General H. Nyone also has experience of peacekeeping operations. He was a Military Observer, then DDRR Officer within MONUC in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2006 to 2007, and Chief of Operations for the first Zambian Battalion of UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone from 2001 to 2002.

Lieutenant General H. Nyone holds a master’s degree in business administration and a Master's degree in Defense and Security Studies from the University of Lusaka, Zambia. He is a doctoral candidate in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Lusaka. He is also a graduate of the War College of the U.S. Army Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and of the Staff College of the Zambian Armed Forces.

Awarded a dozen national and international medals, he is married with five children.

 Major General Luís Manuel Ricardo Monsanto

Deputy Force Commander

Major General Luis Monsanto (Portugal) assumed the position as Deputy Force Commander of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) on December 24, 2023.

He succeeded Major General Pedro Soares (Portugal), who completed his assignment in December 2023.

With 39 years of operational experience, MGEN Luis Monsanto has served in various military units and departments within the Portuguese Army and International Organizations, holding positions of significant importance and responsibility

Throughout his distinguished career, MGEN Luis Monsanto has undertaken diverse roles in the areas of Command and Staff as well as Teaching and Advisory. His commanding positions have ranged from Platoon Leader and Battery Commander at the beginning of his career to his latest posting as the Commander of the Madeira Military Region. In addition to these commanding roles, he has served as Artillery Group Commander and Military Academy Student Corps Commander.

Internationally, MGEN Luis Monsanto has held several Staff and Command positions, including serving as Staff Officer in the SFOR II (SARAJEVO) headquarters in 2000, Commander of a National Deployed Force in Afghanistan in 2009, and as a Military Assistant to the EUROFOR Commander at the European Rapid and Operational Force headquarters from 2010 to 2012. More recently, between June 2020 and September 2022, he served at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) - NATO, as Branch Head of the Strategic Development of Forces (SDF) Division.

MGEN Luis Monsanto was a military teacher of Strategy at the Portuguese Institute of Higher Military Studies, Director of Training at the School of Arms and Deputy of the Force Planning Department of the Planning and Programming Division of the Army General Staff. He also served as the Deputy to H.E. the General Chief of Staff of the Army General Staff, and as the Military Advisor for the Army at the Military House of the Presidency of the Republic of Portugal.

His last appointment was as the Commander of the Madeira Military Region from October 1, 2022 to December 19, 2023.

MGEN Luis Monsanto was born on January 1, 1967, in São Tomé e Principe (Portugal). He is married and has one son.