UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has confirmed Ghassan Salame, a Lebanese scholar as the new head of The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), in replacement of German veteran diplomat Martin Kobler.

The 66-year old man previously worked with former Ghanaian and Korean UN Secretaries, Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon, as their special advisor on the Middle East.

The former Lebanese minister of culture (2000-2003) is said to have won the trust of all Libyan opposing sides.

He was the 29th candidate approached for the tough UN job in Libya. All other candidates turned down the mission they deemed ‘impossible’.