The British embassy in Dublin has confirmed that the new Ambassador to Ireland will be Mr Stewart Eldon, currently Britain's deputy ambassador to the UN in New York.
In a statement yesterday, the embassy said Mr Eldon (48) is to succeed Sir Ivor Roberts, who is transferring to another diplomatic service appointment. Sir Ivor, who has held the post for four years, has more than 30 years service in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Mr Eldon, who takes up his new appointment next spring, joined the Foreign Office in 1976. In 1982 and 1983 he was head of a section in the Republic of Ireland department before moving to the New York mission in 1986.
From 1990 he worked in the Middle East and acted as deputy crisis manager during the Gulf War. In 1993 and 1994, Mr Eldon studied at the Centre for International Affairs in Harvard University. He became the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN in 1998.
As Britain's representative on the Security Council, Mr Eldon was involved in the UN-led transition to independence in East Timor. He has also worked on conflicts in Sierra Leone and Kosovo.
He described the day of the independence vote by the East Timorese in 1999 as "the dawn of a new era". He said the UN faced a severe test not only of rebuilding East Timor but of establishing legal and judicial systems to carry it into independence.
"The resources of the entire UN system, including the funds, programmes and international financial institutions, must be mobilised," he said.
After September 11th, Mr Eldon spoke at a conference at Columbia University in New York on rebuilding Afghanistan.
He will be the first British ambassador to move into Marley Grange, a refurbished Victorian mansion in Rathfarnham, Dublin. Married to Christine, the couple have a daughter and a son.
In Who's Who, Mr Eldon includes "breaking computers" among his hobbies.