On 31 October 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 affirming the “important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding.” Here at WAR ROOM we have addressed the importance of Women in Peace and Security time and again and this episode visits the topic once more. Today on A BETTER PEACE we welcome a woman who has championed the values set forth by the resolution. Over a forty year period, Major General, retired, Kristin Lund, was the first woman to be promoted to the rank of major general in the Norwegian Army, the first woman to command a United Nations peacekeeping operation and the first woman to be inducted into the U.S. Army War College International Fellows Hall of Fame. She joins our podcast editor Ron Granieri in person in the studio to discuss her experiences in the joint/multinational force conducting peacekeeping operations around the world throughout the years.
We put gender on top of the agenda and that increased the number of female military personnel from 4% to 8%, and for the UN police from 10% to 25% just by putting it from the bottom of the agenda, as it very often is, to the top. It has to be anchored at the top node of the organization.
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Kristin Lund is a retired Major General in the Norwegian Army. During her distinguished military career she was appointed deputy commander of the Norwegian Army Forces Command and was the first female officer to be promoted to the rank of major general and was subsequently appointed as chief of staff of the Norwegian Home Guard. She was also the first woman to command a United Nations peacekeeping operation, serving as Force Commander for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus from 2014 to 2016 and later as Head of Mission/Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization from 2017 to 2019. She is a graduate of the AY07 Resident course at the U.S. Army War College and the first woman inducted into the War College International Fellows Hall of Fame.
Ron Granieri is an Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor of A BETTER PEACE.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Credit: Photos courtesy of the Norwegian Armed Forces, Flag Background photo created by www.slon.pics – www.freepik.com