In UN shakeup, Akasaka of Japan replaces Tharoor

United Nations, Feb 10 (UNI) Kiyotaka Akasaka of Japan, currently Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), has been named United Nations Undersecretary-General for Communications and Public Information, succeeding Shashi Tharoor of India.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who took office on January 1, has named four new senior officials to his Cabinet while retaining a dozen others, acting on his pledge to achieve continuity with change.

Mr Ban named a US diplomat as chief political officer, a Chinese veteran of international organisations to head economic and social affairs, a Japanese international civil servant to manage public information and an Egyptian diplomat to oversee General Assembly management.

Mr Akasaka has been closely involved throughout his career with the work of multilateral organisations.

Mr Akasaka was Deputy Director-General in the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Multilateral Cooperation Department from 1997 to 2000, participating as one of his country's top negotiators at the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change and various other international conferences. Between 2000 and 2001 he was Japan's UN Ambassador.

He has also held posts at the Secretariat of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), precursor of the UN World Trade Organisation (WTO), and at the UN World Health Organisation (WHO). He has held a number of positions in the field of communications and public relations, serving in the Japanese Foreign Ministry as Deputy Director of the Press Division and spokesman on climate change. He has also been deeply involved in OECD public information activities.

''In making these decisions, the Secretary-General... picking up para six, line one of DF3, UN-THAROOR-AKASAKA.

UNI