UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Ambassador Lynn Pascoe of the United States has been named to head the U.N. Department of Political Affairs.
Pascoe, U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, whose appointment announced Friday was long anticipated, replaces Ibrahim Gambari, who resigned.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's choices for a series of top-level management positions were announced by his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, who also disclosed those chosen for three other top posts requiring the rank of undersecretary-general.
Kiyotaka Akasaka of Japan was appointed to the highly visible post of chief of the Department of Public Information, replacing Shashi Tharoor, while Mohammad Shaaban of Egypt was chosen to head up General Assembly and Conference Management, replacing Chen Jian. Sha Zukang of China was picked for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, replacing Jose Antonio Ocampo.
Nambiar of India was named head of the secretary-general's cabinet last month, replacing Alicia Barcena, when the choice of Asha-Rose Migiro of Tanzania for deputy secretary-general, replacing Mark Malloch Brown, and Michele Montas of Haiti as his chief spokeswoman, replacing Stephane Dujarric, were also announced.
Ban said earlier he had decided to keep on in top management Jean-Marie Guehenno of France as undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations, chose John Holmes of Britain to head up the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Alicia Barcena Ibarra of Mexico to run the Department of Management.
The secretary-general has retained Undersecretary-General Nicolas Michel to top Legal Affairs and serve as the U.N. legal counsel.
