Sahara : A former Australian politician tipped to succeed Horst Köhler

A former Australian politician is tipped to succeed Horst Köhler, a German politician who formerly served as the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy to Western Sahara.

Julie Bishop who served as Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister between September 2013 and August 2018 is expected to be soon appointed by the US Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, sources told Yabiladi.

«Her appointment will be announced soon by Antonio Guterres in a few days», a well-informed source from the Sahara told Yabiladi.

For the record, Bishop visited Morocco in November 2016 to attend COP22, held in Marrakech. During her visit, she met with former Foreign Affairs Minister Salaheddine Mezouar.

On November 27, a senior official of the US State Department stressed at a press briefing the need of appointing a new personal envoy to the Sahara.

The former German president resigned from his post in May due to «health reasons». At first, an African diplomat was proposed to succeed him but Morocco would have expressed reservations.