Hungarian General Ferenc Kajari to Become New KFOR Commander

KFOR

Hungarian Brigadier General Ferenc Kajari will in November take over command of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) from his Italian colleague Major General Franco Federici. That will be the first time an officer from a country in the region will lead the international mission.

The Balkan Security Network website reported on Feb. 10 that Kajari had the reputation of a seasoned intelligence officer with years of experience in peacekeeping missions. He is to remain at the helm of KFOR until November 2022.

"Kajari has already been engaged on assignments in the Balkans. During 1996 he was the liaison officer of the Hungarian contingent with the IFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2004 he was the EU advisor in Darfour, and he served on the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and in the NATO command in Norfolk, Virginia," adds the article.

On the subject of his future job, Kajari said that a favorable security situation had resulted in the number of soldiers taking part in that mission dropping from 50,000 to the current 3,500.

Since 2000, KFOR commanders have hailed from Italy (12 officers), Great Britain (one), France (three), Germany (seven), Norway (one), and Spain (one).