The United Nations Security Council approved on Friday the appointment of veteran diplomat Jan Kubis as the U.N. Libya envoy, diplomats said, nearly a year after the last mediator stepped down.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had proposed that Kubis succeed Ghassan Salame, who quit the role in March last year due to stress. Salame's deputy Stephanie Williams has been acting Libya envoy.

Kubis, a former Slovakian foreign minister, is currently the U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon. He has also served as the U.N. special envoy in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The appointment of Kubis comes after the Security Council approved in December a plan by Guterres' to name Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov to the Libya role. But a week later Mladenov said he could not take up the position due to "personal and family reasons."

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