Secretary-General Appoints Major General Nicholas James Foxall of Australia Head of Mission, Chief of Staff, United Nations Truce Supervision Organization

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Major General Nicholas James Foxall of Australia as his new Head of Mission and Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).

Major General Foxall succeeds Major General Patrick Gauchat of Switzerland who completed his assignment on 28 February 2026.  The Secretary-General is grateful to Major General Gauchat for his exemplary leadership over the last four years.

Major General Foxall brings over 32 years of experience at both the national and international levels, including a distinguished career serving in the Australian Defence Force in various leadership positions.  At the national level, Major General Foxall served, until recently, as the Director-General of Military Operations, providing military strategic direction and operational guidance to the Australian Defence Force’s Operational Command Headquarters.  Prior to that, he was in a variety of assignments, including as the Commanding Officer of the Artillery Regiment and as a Staff Officer in the Directorate of Army Operations of Australia.

Major General Foxall has been deployed to peace support operations, having served in Iraq from 2019 to 2020, in Afghanistan from 2008 to 2009 and in East Timor, with the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, in 1997.

Major General Foxall holds a master’s degree in international relations from the Deakin University in Australia and a master’s degree in Strategy and Policy from the University of New South Wales in Australia.