Major General Ramón Guardado Sánchez (Mexico)
Head of Mission / Chief Military Observer (HoM / CMO) - D2
On 13 November 2024, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Major General Ramón Guardado Sánchez of Mexico as Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).
Major General Ramón Guardado Sánchez has had a long and distinguished career in the Mexican Army, currently serving as Commissioner of the National Guard in Yucatán. Prior to this, he served as Liaison to Congress for the National Defence Joint Staff (2022-2023), Chief of the Regional Training Centre (2021-2022) and as Chief of the G-7 Section (Counter-narcotics Operations) of the National Defence Joint Staff (2018-2019). He was also the Commanding Officer of the Mexican Peace Operations Joint Training Centre (2017-2018) and served in the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia (2016-2017) as Regional Chief Observer.
Major General Guardado holds a bachelor’s degree in military administration from the Superior War School and a master’s degree in national security from the Naval Centre for Superior Studies, both in Mexico. He also graduated from the Armor Officer Advanced Course at the United States Army Armor Centre and the Joint and Combined Warfighting School at the Joint Forces Staff College in the United States and trained at the Argentine Joint Training Centre for Peace Operations (CAECOPAZ). He speaks English and Spanish.
George Edward Scheibner (United States)
Chief of Mission Support (CMS) - P5
Mr. George Scheibner serves as Chief of Mission Support of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). Returning to the Mission in this capacity, he brings extensive leadership experience from United Nations peace operations, together with a deep appreciation for the people, partnerships, and operational excellence that sustain mandate delivery in complex environments.
Throughout his United Nations career, Mr. Scheibner has held senior management positions supporting field operations across multiple regions, leading diverse and multidisciplinary teams in logistics, finance, human resources, procurement, engineering, information & communications technology, and administration. He is recognized for fostering collaboration across civilian and military components, strengthening institutional partnerships, and promoting practical, people-centered solutions to operational challenges.
Born in Spain and a citizen of the United States, Mr. Scheibner has lived and worked across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. His international background and commitment to intercultural understanding are reflected in his fluency in Arabic, Catalan, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, as well as his working knowledge of Russian, Urdu, and Hindi.
Mr. Scheibner holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from San Francisco State University (USA), a Master of Arts in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo (Egypt), and a Master of Business Administration in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management (USA).
Drawing on both his previous service with UNMOGIP and his broader international experience, Mr. Scheibner is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace culture, strengthening cooperation across the United Nations system, and ensuring that mission support remains a strategic enabler of UNMOGIP's mandate. He firmly believes that an organization's greatest strength lies in its people and that lasting success is built through trust, dialogue, and teamwork.