Britain named the country’s first black Cabinet minister as its next ambassador to South Africa on Monday.
Paul Boateng, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will quit the government after the next national election to take up the diplomatic post in Pretoria, the Treasury said in a statement. A general election is widely expected in early May.
Boateng has been a lawmaker with the Labour Party since 1987.
After Prime Minister Tony Blair’s election victory in 1997, he obtained a junior ministerial position at the Department of Health and was named to his current Cabinet position in 2002.
Treasury chief Gordon Brown paid tribute to Boateng’s work and said he would play a key role in the fight against poverty in Africa in his new post as High Commissioner.
”He has displayed huge dedication to the cause of African development for many years and it is fitting that … Paul has been given such a pivotal role in our fight against poverty and injustice,” Brown said. – Sapa-AP