Sigrid Kaag Named U.N. Coordinator for Lebanon

The head of the U.N. mission to rid Syria of chemical weapons, Sigrid Kaag, is taking up a new post as U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, a spokesman said Monday.

Kaag will succeed British diplomat Derek Plumbly who served in the post since 2012.

For the past year, Kaag has led a U.N. effort to scrap Syria's chemical stockpiles under a deal reached between Russia and the United States.

Work on destroying Syria's last remaining chemical weapons production facilities should be completed by mid-2015, Kaag told the Security Council last month. 

The 53-year-old Dutch diplomat will head up U.N. operations in Lebanon, which is sheltering over one million refugees from the Syrian war.

A graduate in Middle Eastern studies, Kaag has served as assistant secretary general at the U.N. Development Program and as UNICEF's Middle East director in Jordan.

"She brings with her a wealth of experience in political, humanitarian and development affairs alongside her diplomatic service, including in the Middle East," said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.