CAIRO: After a last minute change of candidates, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby was elected the new Secretary General of the Arab League. The 22-member Arab organization chose Elaraby to replace Amr Moussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister who has said he will run for the office of president in Egypt. Moussa, who is 73, has held the post for a decade. The choice for head of the Arab League traditionally is agreed in advance, but this year, Egypt and Qatar both put candidates forward. Egypt had nominated a member of the party of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. On Sunday, it substituted Elaraby, 76, a popular diplomat. After the change of candidates was disclosed, Qatar withdrew its candidate, effectively giving the job to Elaraby. Qatar's foreign minister, Hamad Bin Jassim, said Egypt's choice of Elaraby “encouraged” his country to withdraw its nominee, diplomat Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah of the Gulf Cooperation Council. “We had agreement in appreciation of Egypt and the revolution of Jan. 25 (so) Qatar withdrew its candidate,” he told the Arab League meeting. “This is the right choice, which encouraged us to support it.” Elaraby told the session that he came to the meeting without a prepared speech, saying he wasn't expecting to be nominated or elected. He thanked Qatar for agreeing to withdraw its candidate. “It is my pleasure to have this precious trust in me from the council and be named as the League chief,” he said. He praised Moussa and said the Arab League faces many challenges. “I take on this difficult job as the Arab nations are facing many problems,” Elaraby said.
