Santos Cruz

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Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, born on June 1, 1952, is a Brazilian military officer (Divisional General) and politician. He is known for leading United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa and for a brief stint in the Brazilian government.

Key roles
- Force Commander of MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2013 to 2015, appointed by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He previously commanded MINUSTAH in Haiti from 2007 to 2009.
- Minister-Secretary of Government of Brazil under President Jair Bolsonaro from January 1 to June 13, 2019.
- Appointed in August 2022 by the UN Secretary-General to lead a UN fact-finding mission into the Olenivka prison massacre in Ukraine, alongside Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir and Issoufou Yacouba.

Early life and career
- Santos Cruz was born in Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. His grandfather came from Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal; he has mixed heritage on his grandmother’s side.
- He graduated from the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras in 1974 and studied at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas.
- He has more than 40 years of national and international military experience, including serving as Deputy Commander for Land Operations (2011–2013) and as Special Adviser to the Brazilian Minister for the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs.

Personal life and politics
- He is married to Dora Regina Gondim.
- Since 2021, he has been a member of the Podemos party (PODE).

Awards and decorations
Santos Cruz has received numerous honors, including:
- Order of Military Merit (Grand Officer, Brazil)
- Order of Naval Merit (Commander, Brazil)
- Order of Aeronautical Merit (Grand Officer, Brazil)
- Order of Labor Merit (Getúlio Vargas) (Commander)
- Peacemaker Medal (Brazil)
- Military Medal (40 years, Gold)
- Order of Defence Merit (Grand Officer)
- United Nations Medal (MINUSTAH, Haiti)
- United Nations Medal (MONUSCO, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- 18 May 1811 Medal

Notes on name
- In Portuguese naming customs, the family name is dos Santos Cruz. He is commonly referred to as Santos Cruz.