The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has announced the appointment of Major General Anita Asmah of Ghana as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). She will officially assume her new role in January 2025. 

A statement issued by the office of the Spokesperson for Mr Guterres confirmed that Major General Asmah succeeds Lieutenant General Nirmal Kumar Thapa of Nepal, who will complete his assignment in mid-December 2024. 

Major General Asmah becomes the third female officer from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to assume a top UN role in recent years and the second Ghanaian military officer to hold a senior United Nations position.  

The first Ghanaian to achieve this milestone was the late Brigadier General Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu, who served as Deputy Force Commander of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), based in Morocco. Brigadier General Edjeani-Afenu was succeeded by Naval Commodore Faustina Boakyewaa Anokye of the Ghana Navy after completing her tenure. 

Profile 

Major General Asmah brings over 31 years of leadership and command experience in the Ghana Armed Forces and United Nations peacekeeping operations.  

Most recently, she served as Director General in the Department of Defence Civilian Establishment of the Ghana Armed Forces. Previously, she held the position of Deputy Force Commander of UNDOF from 2021 to 2023.  

Her extensive peacekeeping experience includes serving as a Staff Officer with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from 2012 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2016, as well as a Military Observer with the United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) from 2003 to 2004.  

Within the Ghana Armed Forces, Major General Asmah has held various senior roles, including Director of Education, Deputy Military Secretary, and Course Director at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre. 

Major General Asmah holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Ghana. She is fluent in both English and French.