A special session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) general conference held here on Monday approved Argentine diplomat Rafael Mariano Grossi as its new director general, the Xinhua has reported.
Grossi, 58, will serve a term of four years starting from December 3, succeeding Yukiya Amano, a Japanese diplomat who had held the position since 2009, and died in July well before the end of his third four-year term.
The decision, which consists of representatives of the 171 member states, comes just over a month after IAEA's 35-member Board of Governors on Oct. 31 appointed Grossi to the post.
The newly-appointed director general, who becomes the first head of the IAEA from Latin America, is a career diplomat with over 35 years of professional experience in non-proliferation and disarmament.
As the IAEA's six head since it was founded in 1957, Grossi ran a tight race against Cornel Feruta of Romania, IAEA's chief coordinator and acting director general for the position.
At the end of last week and in an interview with Japanese NHK TV, Grossi said he would take a fair but stern stance on nuclear development, including Iran's.
The NHK cited analysts as saying that Grossi's position on Iran is similar to that of the US.
KI
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