Nii Allotey Odunton, a Ghanaian, has been elected the new Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
He would begin his four-year term from January 1, 2009.
His election, according to the ISA press release, was by acclamation at its general meeting held in Kingston, Jamaica, on Wednesday.
He takes over from Mr Satya N. Nandan, of Fiji who is retiring on December 31, after serving three conservative four-year terms.
Mr Odunton, who used to be the Deputy Secretary-General, the release said, praised his predecessor for the innovative steps taken to broaden the Authority's knowledge base and promised to ensure continuity of the good works and policies.
He noted that with the ever increasing economic conditions for nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese, the Authority would have to work towards adopting a code for exploitation or mining of poly metallic nodule deposits in timely fashion.