Ban names United States diplomat as new UN political affairs chief

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Jeffrey D. Feltman of the United States as the top United Nations official dealing with political issues, as part of an ongoing series of changes to his senior management team initiated at the start of his second term in January.

Mr. Feltman will replace B. Lynn Pascoe, also a US national, as the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, overseeing a department that plays a central role in UN efforts to prevent and resolve deadly conflict around the world.

The new appointee recently served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs for the US Government.

Also today, Mr. Ban appointed Major-General Young-Bum Choi of the Republic of Korea as Chief Military Observer and the head of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).

Maj.-Gen. Choi succeeds Major-General Raul Gloodtdofsky Fernandez of Uruguay, who will complete his assignment on 15 June 2012 with the mission, which has been deployed to observe a ceasefire in disputed Jammu and Kashmir since 1949.