Yukiya Amano of Japan was elected new director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday.

After a prolonged voting process, the 61-year-old Amano eventually gained two thirds of the majority vote of the IAEA governing board members -- 23 votes with one abstention -- in the 35-nation meeting, beating South African rival Abdul Minty.

Amano will replace outgoing IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who retires in November after three terms, or 12 years in office.

The governing board of IAEA will hold a meeting on Friday to confirm Amano's position, so will an IAEA's general conference in September.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2009)