Israel's cabinet approved Sunday the appointment of Professor Gabriela Shalev as the country's next ambassador to the United Nations, the dpa reported.
Shalev, 67, will be the first woman to take over the high-profile post. She replaces Dan Gillerman, who has served as UN Ambassador for the past five-and-a-half-years. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni nominated her for the position in June.
Shalev currently serves as the Rector of Kiryat Ono College, outside Tel Aviv.
She was previously a professor of contract law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has held visiting professorships at various universities abroad, including Boston College, Glasgow Law School and Toronto University.