Special Representative of the Secretary-general (SRSG) and Head of MINUSMA

M. El-Ghassim WANE

Mr. Wane brings 25 years of experience in conflict prevention, mediation and peacekeeping, he served as Chief of Staff and Chief Adviser of the African Union Commission Chairperson between 2017 and 2019 and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations from 2016 to 2017.

Mr. Wane has held several leadership positions with the African Union, including as Director of the Commission Peace and Security Department and Head of the Conflict Management Division. He contributed to the development of the African Union’s key strategy and policy on conflict prevention and resolution, and engaged in prevention, mediation and peacebuilding processes across the continent.

He served as visiting Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University in the United States, lectured at Sciences Po, in Paris and served as visiting senior research fellow at the African Leadership Centre at King’s College, London.

Mr. Wane holds a master’s degree in international public law and international relations and a post-graduate degree in international and European studies from the University of Dakar in Senegal and the University of Lille II in France, respectively. 

Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-general (DSRSG), Political Affairs

Ms. Daniela Kroslak

Ms. Kroslak brings to the position a wealth of experience in the field and at Headquarters. Since January 2020, she served as Deputy Head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA). Prior to her deployment to Yemen, from 2018 to 2019, Ms. Kroslak was Chief of Staff of the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH). Before that, she spent five years at Headquarters in New York as Principal Officer for the Sudan Integrated Operational Team in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. She was Senior Adviser and Head of Office for the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, from 2012 to 2013, having previously been the Senior Political Affairs Officer at Headquarters supporting both that office and the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

In addition, Ms. Kroslak served in the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) from 2010 to 2011, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) from 2004 to 2006, and with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Rwanda between 2003 and 2004. She has also worked for the International Crisis Group as Deputy Africa Director in Nairobi, Kenya (2007‑2010) and for the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (2001-2002).

Ms. Kroslak holds a doctorate in International Politics and a bachelor’s in International History and International Politics from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom. She also holds a License in Applied Language from Université Paul Valéry, in Montpellier, France. She is fluent in English, French and German and has knowledge of Slovak and Russian.

Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-general (DSRSG), Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator in Mali

M. Alain NOUDEHOU

Mr. Noudéhou brings to the position extensive experience in international development and humanitarian affairs, most recently serving as Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan. Earlier appointments included Chief of Staff of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York (2016-2017), Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the People’s Republic of China (2014-2016) and Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Zimbabwe (2010-2014).

Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Noudéhou worked in senior positions from 1996 to 2002 for the then CHF International Inc., an international non-governmental organization, currently named Global Communities, Partners for Good.

He holds a MSc. Degree in Public Management and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Tsinghua University (P.R. of China). He speaks French, English, and Chinese.

Force Commander

Lieutenant General, C. J. (Kees) MATTHIJSSEN

Serving as Deputy Chief of Staff Plans at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allied Joint Force Command since 2019, Lieutenant General Matthijssen has had a long and distinguished career since joining the Royal Netherlands Army in 1982, notably serving as Deputy Commander (2017-2019). He also commanded the eleventh Air Assault Brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army (2014-2017), which included a year at NATO’s interim Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, and served as Military Adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2013-2014), as well as Director of Staff Headquarters of the Royal Netherlands Army (2010-2013).

Lieutenant General Matthijssen has extensive international operational experience, having served as Commander of the Uruzgan Task Force, an International Security Assistance Force brigade-size unit deployed in Afghanistan (2008-2009); Commander of the Dutch thirteenth Air Assault Infantry Battalion, deployed as a battlegroup as part of the Stabilization Force in Iraq in 2004; and Company Commander of the Dutch Battalion deployed with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995).

Lieutenant General Matthijssen is a graduate of the Netherlands Royal Military Academy, the Netherlands Defence College and United States Army War College, from which he holds a master’s degree in strategic studies. He speaks Dutch and English fluently and has a basic command of French and German.

Police Chief - UNPOL

MINUSMA Police Commissioner General Bettina Patricia BOUGHANI

On Monday, January 4, 2021, the new Police Commissioner of the MINUSMA Police Component, General Bettina Patricia Boughani joined the mission in Mali.

A Major General, Ms. Boughani holds a law degree and is a graduate of the Joint Defense College and the National Gendarmerie Officers School (EOGN). She has served in a wide variety of commands where she has developed various expertises in law enforcement, general public security and training.

Ms. Patricia Boughani is one of the few women to have commanded a mobile gendarmerie squadron. She commanded the 11/2 squadron in Bouliac after graduating from the EOGN. She was then section chief at the Officers' School and in charge of the Maintenance of Order section.

The Major General has also held positions in the Gendarmerie at the departmental level (Toulouse-Saint-Michel Company), at the air transport level and at the International Cooperation Directorate as Head of the European Union Office.  In the cabinet of the Director General of the Gendarmerie Nationale (DGGN) she was head of the International Affairs function. She was also in charge of the "internal Security" mission at the Permanent Representation of France to the United Nations.

Before joining the Gendarmerie, Ms. Boughani served in the Army and more particularly in the National Service Directorate. From her position as Head of International Affairs in the DGGN's office, Ms. Patricia Boughani has joined MINUSMA as Head of the Mission's Police Component since Monday, January 4, 2021.

Heads of Regional Bureaus

• Timbuktu

Mr. Riccardo MAIA

• Gao

Mr. Mohamed SOUEF

• Kidal

Mr. El Hadji Ibrahima Boly DIENE

• Mopti

Mrs. Fatou Dieng THIAM

• Menaka

Mr. Francesco Osler de ALMEIDA