BAGHDAD: A Dutch former defense minister has been appointed as the UN's envoy to Iraq, to head a mission which plays an essential role in the country's political and economic spheres.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert was named special representative and will head up the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a statement from the organization said.
She will replace Jan Kubis, a Slovak former foreign minister who took up the post in February 2015.
During his tenure the mission tried to curb internal conflicts, such as the crisis which erupted between the autonomous Kurdish region and the central government in Baghdad.
Hennis-Plasschaert, 45, served as the Netherlands' defense minister from 2012 until 2017. She was also a lawmaker in her home country and at the European Parliament, as well as working for the European Commission.
UNAMI was established in 2003 by a UN Security Council resolution, at the request of the Iraqi government, and the mission was expanded four years later.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters tried to break into the provincial government headquarters in Basra to press demands for better public services. Some protesters also set fire to tires outside the building of the riot police who fired tear gas to try to quell the protest on Friday.
