UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed on Friday Mark Malloch Brown as Deputy Secretary- General, the position currently taken by Louise Frechette.

Brown, aged 52, who is Annan's Chief of Staff since January 2005, will assume his new functions upon the departure of Frechette, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Prior to becoming Chief of Staff, Brown, a British citizen, served as Administrator of the UN Development Program from 1999 to 2005.

Annan accepted in December, 2005 the resignation of Frechette, who decided to leave her post in April. Frechette became the newly created post in 1998.

Source: Xinhua