President Miloš Zeman conferred the rank of major general on Brigadier General Pavlo Kolář (left), February 22, 2023, Prague. In the picture, Minister of Defense Jana Černochová congratulates him on his promotion.
Prague – President Miloš Zeman conferred the rank of major general on Brigadier General Pavlo Kolář, who will lead the UN mission in Sinai. He did so at today's ceremony at Prague Castle. The government has already expressed its agreement with the granting of the rank.
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Kolář will become the commander of the MFO mission, which oversees compliance with the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in Sinai, at the beginning of March. He will command 1150 soldiers. Both Israel and Egypt agreed to his appointment. The military rank of major general is established for this position.
Zeman congratulated Kolář. “You were sent to an important position in Sinai. A position that is unfortunately being forgotten due to Russian aggression in Ukraine,” said the president. He added that there is still a need to fight terrorism in the area.
The MFO (Multinational Force and Observers) mission is responsible for monitoring compliance with the security conditions of the Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement of 1981. It serves in 1151 soldiers, the USA, Colombia and Fiji have the strongest contingents. The mission is headquartered in Rome, where it is managed by Director General Elizabeth Dibble. Two regional offices are located in Tel Aviv and Cairo. The mission, which will be commanded by Kolář, operates on the Sinai Peninsula from two bases – North Camp at El Gorah and South Camp in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Kolář will be the 14th commander of the MFO mission, succeeding Major General Evan Williams from New Zealand.
Kolar now acts as deputy commander of the ground forces. In the past, he was the director of the Directorate of Special Forces of the Ministry of Defense. Prior to that, he served in various capacities in the 601st Special Forces Group. He was deployed in the Balkans and Afghanistan. He held command and staff positions in the special forces units of the Ministry of Defense or Military Intelligence.
