Irish Army officer appointed commander of top United Nations post in the Lebanon

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday announced the appointment of Major General Michael Beary as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Major General Beary will command approx 10,598 uniformed personnel from over 40 countries with a land, maritime and air component, including an Irish Infantry Group of 186 personnel, which will increase to 360 in November.

Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM said “Brigadier General Beary’s appointment is an endorsement of his impressive track record of command, both at home and overseas, and is also a reflection of the substantial contribution being made by the Defence Forces to United Nations Peace Support operations in the region.”

Major General Beary has extensive overseas experience, recently serving as the Head of Mission of the EU Training Mission Somalia, from Aug 2011 to Feb 2013. He was also seconded to the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU where he served three years in the EU Military Staff Division and served on three previous deployments to South Lebanon with UNIFIL, including appointments as Company Commander and Staff Officer in Operations Branch, UNIFIL HQ. He has also served as part of the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) and in Bosnia & Herzegovina with United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). In 2003, he completed a four-month tour of duty in HQ ISAF in Afghanistan.

Major General Beary received his early education at Patrician College, Ballyfin County Laois and completed a B.Sc Degree in University College Galway. He is also a graduate of the Smurfit Business School, University College Dublin and holds a Master of Business Studies in Organisational Studies. He is a graduate of the Irish Defence Forces Command and Staff School and the National War College, Defence University, Washington D.C. from which he obtained a Master of Science degree in National Security Studies.

Ireland last held the position of Force Commander UNIFIL from February 1981 to May 1986 when Lieutenant General William ‘Bull’ O’Callaghan held the appointment. 47 Irish Defence Forces personnel have lost their lives serving with UNIFIL since 1978, with over 32,000 individual tours of duty completed in that time.