Deputy chief UN weapons inspector Mr Demetrius Perricos will become acting head of the disarmament agency for Iraq when his boss, Dr Hans Blix, retires at the end of the month, the United Nations said today.
A UN spokesman said Mr Perricos would take over as acting chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) on July 1st, "pending a Security Council decision on future arrangements."
Diplomats said the United States - the dominant council member - was in no hurry to replace Dr Blix, a 75-year-old former Swedish foreign minister who was appointed as the first chairman of UNMOVIC soon after it was established in December 1999.
The administration of US President George W. Bush expressed increased frustration with Dr Blix in the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq on March 20th, and has opposed the return of UN inspectors to Iraq since then.
Mr Perricos, a Greek national, was UNMOVIC's director of planning and operations for three years until his appointment as deputy executive chairman in January.
He previously worked for 28 years for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), starting in 1972 as a nuclear safeguards inspector. For much of that time, Dr Blix was IAEA director general.
Mr Perricos had extensive experience in Iraq, notably after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. He also led the IAEA team that certified the dismantling of South Africa's nuclear weapons programme.
AFP