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. Joanne ADAMSON

With 30 years as a leader and policy specialist in peace and security, Ms. Adamson has extensive experience in diplomacy, political affairs and analysis, multilateral negotiations and conflict resolution with the European Union, the United Nations and the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom. 

Since 2016, she has served as Deputy Head of the European Union delegation to the United Nations, where she focused on reform of the Organization and strengthening collaborative relationships, particularly among the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union.

From 2014 to 2016, Ms. Adamson was her country’s Ambassador to Mali and Niger, where she played an active role in advancing Mali’s peace process and helped to develop a cross-Sahel stabilization programme. 

She has also served with United Nations peacekeeping, including at New York Headquarters, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Born in 1967, Ms. Adamson holds a master’s degree from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cambridge.  She is fluent in Arabic and French.

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

M. Alain Noudéhou

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 Cornelis Johannes 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