Mr Iyad Allawi, a member of Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council with long-time links to the CIA, has been chosen as prime minister in Iraq's interim government, in a move that surprised the UN.
"There was a meeting of the Governing Council and Dr Allawi was unanimously chosen as prime minister," an aide to Mr Allawi, Mr Hani Adris, said. He added that UN envoy Mr Lakhdar Brahimi and the US-run occupation authority in Iraq had endorsed that choice.
The new Iraqi PM, Mr Iyad Allawi
The UN said it was surprised by the choice but said it respected it. Spokesman, Mr Fred Eckhard said: "It's not how we expected it to happen."
Although Mr Allawi had been high on the list put forward by Mr Brahimi, the UN official was not present when the choice was made.
"Mr Brahimi respects the decision and is prepared to work with this person on the selection of the other posts in this interim government," Mr Eckhard continued, adding that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also respected the choice and the word "respects" had been "a carefully chosen word."
"I assume this choice will hold, but the process isn't over yet," he said. "Let wait to see what the Iraqi street has to say about this name."
The interim government will take over running the country from the United States on June 30th. Mr Brahimi is helping select a 30-member team, including a president and 26 ministers.
Mr Allawi, a wealthy secular Shia Muslim and former member of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, is a relative of Mr Ahmad Chalabi, a former Pentagon favourite who has fallen out with Washington, but the two are not regarded as particularly close.
Mr Chalabi was himself long seen as Washington's likely choice to lead post-Saddam Iraq.
Mr Allawi, a British-educated neurologist, went into exile after turning against Saddam and in 1990 formed the Iraqi National Accord, a party backed by the CIA and British intelligence and including many former Baathists who opposed the Baghdad regime.