UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Friday announced the appointment of Major General Raul Gloodtdofsky Fernandez of Uruguay as head of the UN military observer group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), stated a press release from the UN spokesman's office. Prior to his appointment as chief military observer for UNMOGIP, Gloodtdofsky served as deputy force commander of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) from 2006 to 2007. Gloodtdofsky holds a distinguished military career in the Uruguayan Army, which he joined in 1972. He also served as military advisor of the permanent mission of Uruguay to the UN in New York from 2001 to 2003. The Uruguayan major general succeeds Major General Kim Moon Hwa of the Republic of Korea, who ended his term as head of UNMOGIP on Nov. 27. "The secretary-general is grateful to Major General Kim for his exemplary and highly professional service in UNMOGIP over the past two years," noted the press release.