United Nations, Feb 6 (IANS): UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria as the new UN envoy to the Middle East, replacing Robert Serry.
Ban has appointed Mladenov as "his Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and his Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian Authority", Xinhua news agency cited deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq as telling reporters Thursday.
He said Mladenov would be the envoy of the secretary-general to the so-called Middle East Quartet.
Mladenov, 42, used to work with the Bulgarian government, serving in prestigious posts, including foreign minister and defence minister. He also served in the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009. He had been the top UN envoy in Iraq since 2013.
Robert Serry, a veteran Dutch diplomat, was appointed to the post in 2007.