Tuesday, March 8 2005 11:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: John R Bolton, the outspoken US Undersecretary of State for arms control, was yesterday (Mar 7, 2005) named as Washington's new Ambassador to the United Nations.

"The President (George W Bush) and I have asked John to do this work because he knows how to get things done," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a joint press conference with Bolton.

Terming him a "tough-minded diplomat", Rice said Bolton has a history of "effective" multi-literalism.

Bolton, 56, a sharp critic of North Korea and other hard line regimes, would succeed former senator John Danforth, who retired in January.

The nomination of Bolton, a self-confessed UN critic, has to be confirmed by the Senate.

Rice said Bolton, was "personally committed to the future success of the United Nations and he will be a strong voice for reform".

Bolton said, "The United Nations affords us the opportunity to move our policies forward."

He was senior vice president of the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank, before being named to the State Department in May 2001.

Bolton has been assistant secretary for international organization affairs at the State Department (1989-1993); assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice (1985-1989); and policy and legal advisory positions at the Agency for International Development (1981-83).