Annan says would like to see woman in top U.N. post

BERLIN, July 10 (Reuters) United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was quoted today as saying that he would like to see a woman replace him as the head of the organisation.

''I must confess that I would personally be very pleased if after 60 years of existence of the U.N. a woman were to become the secretary-general,'' Annan was quoted as saying in an interview with German daily General Anzeiger.

''We have had many remarkable women in management positions in this organisation who have served extremely well,'' he said.

Annan has no formal influence over the selection process.

To date, there are four names in the running for the job and all are men.

Three have been officially nominated: Deputy Thai Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai; Sri Lankan disarmament specialist and government adviser Jayantha Dhanapala; and Indian novelist Shashi Tharoor, the undersecretary-general for the U.N. Department of Public Information.

Seoul has also announced that South Korea's foreign minister, Ban Ki-moon, would run for the post though his name has not been formally submitted.

Security Council members could start conducting informal polls later this month to get an idea of how much support the individual candidates have, said French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, who presides over the council in July.

Reuters SY DB2240