Tanzanian foreign minister to be named UN deputy

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 5 (Reuters) New U N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will appoint Tanzanian Foreign Minister Asha-Rose Migiro as his deputy, fulfilling a pledge to name a woman to the No 2 post, UN officials said today.

The appointment would be announced later in the day, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Ban, the former South Korean foreign minister, became the world body's eighth secretary-general on Monday, succeeding Kofi Annan of Ghana.

Annan created the post of deputy secretary-general during his 10 years as U N leader, and Migiro would be only the third person to hold the job after Louise Frechette of Canada and Mark Malloch Brown, a Briton.

Ban has been trying to ensure balance in his choice of top aides between permanent Security Council members instrumental in his election and key developing nations.

He has also vowed to include women among his top appointees, including the key post of deputy secretary-general.

Ban has named just a few senior appointees, choosing Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar as his chief of staff, Haitian broadcast journalist Michele Montas as his spokeswoman, Mexican environmentalist Alicia Barcena Ibarra as undersecretary-general for administration and management, and senior British diplomat John Holmes as undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.

REUTERS PB HT2247