The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, has named a prominent Brazilian official working with the world body to succeed Mrs Mary Robinson in the sensitive post of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello (54) has been a career official with the UN since 1969. He recently led the UN operation in East Timor, as the small Pacific nation gained its independence from Indonesia.
Before that he was in charge of the UN mission in Kosovo on an interim basis and was previously the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. Most of his career has been spent in the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva.
A fluent speaker of English and French as well as his native Portuguese, he was educated in Rio De Janeiro and received doctoral degrees in philosophy and social sciences from the University of Paris.
At the end of what was described as "a shadow diplomatic campaign" for the post, Mr Annan reportedly kept the appointment a secret even from senior ambassadors. Among other names mentioned were the former Polish dissident Mr Bronislaw Geremek, former Philippines president Ms Corazon "Cory" Aquino and former Thai foreign minister Mr Surin Pitsuwan.
While the Secretary-General has frequently praised Mrs Robinson's performance, it is understood she was not universally popular in the UN system where quiet diplomacy is often preferred to outspoken comment.
She steps down in September after five very active years during which her trenchant views gave her a high international profile. She won praise from human rights activists but irritated major powers like China, Russia and the US.
In an interview with CNN last week, Mrs Robinson said: "The international human rights code is not just for developing countries."
After an initial four years in the job, she declared her intention of stepping down but stayed on for a further year. Her low-profile predecessor, Mr José Ayala-Lasso of Ecuador, held the job from 1994 until 1997, when he stepped down to become his country's foreign minister.
• It is reported that Mrs Robinson may be in the running for the post of European Ombudsman, based in Strasbourg. The incumbent, Mr Jacob Sderman, is retiring next April, a month after his 65th birthday. His successor will be selected by Parliament's 626 MEPs in a secret ballot at the end of the year. The post of European Ombudsman was created to enhance relations between the EU and its citizens by investigating complaints about maladministration by EU institutions and bodies.