A senior RUC officer has been appointed the next United Nations Police Commissioner in Kosovo.
Assistant Chief Constable Christopher Albiston will replace the Dane Sven Frederikson, who has been in Kosovo since the establishment of the UN International Police in the summer of 1999, in the wake of the Kosovo conflict.
Mr Albiston (47), married with four children, joined the RUC in 1989 after 14 years with the Metropolitan Police.
Welcoming his appointment, which was announced in New York, Foreign Office minister Mr Peter Hain said: "Assistant Chief Constable Albiston is an excellent choice. His skills and experience gained from 25 years service in the Metropolitan Police and the RUC make him ideally suited to this challenging job."