UNITED NATIONS - UN chief Ban Ki-moon has named Geir Pedersen, the UN envoy for southern Lebanon, as special coordinator for Lebanon (SCL), according to a letter released here.

In the letter addressed to the 15-member UN Security Council, Ban said the Norwegian diplomat would be responsible "for coordinating the work of the UN in the country and representing me on all political aspects of the UN work there."

"Among other functions, the SCL will ensure that the activities of the UN country team in Lebanon are well coordinated with the government of Lebanon, donors and international financial institutions in line with the overall objectives of the UN in Lebanon," he added.

Pedersen has been the UN secretary general's personal representative for southern Lebanon since March 2005.

In 1993, he was a member of the Norwegian team to the secret Oslo negotiations that led to the mutual recognition between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel. -AFP