U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday appointed Princeton N. Lyman as his new special envoy for Sudan, Xinhua reported.
Obama described Lyman as a man "with a lifetime of experience working on some of Africa's most pressing challenges," saying he " is uniquely qualified to sustain our efforts in support of a peaceful and prosperous future for the Sudanese people."
Lyman takes over the post from Scott Gration, whom Obama said he has nominated as U.S. new ambassador to Kenya.
"As the State Department's senior advisor on Sudan north-south negotiations since last August, Ambassador Lyman worked closely with General Gration, as part of the American diplomatic effort that led to an historic and peaceful independence referendum for South Sudan," Obama said in a statement.
South Sudan voted in the January referendum to secede from the north, but the two sides have a number of thorny issues to settle, which include the status of oil-rich Abyei region, the border demarcation, citizenship and oil revenue division, before the transitional period ends and south Sudan formally declared independence in July.
"In his new capacity, Ambassador Lyman will oversee our support for full implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, reduced tensions between north and south over the status of Abyei, the birth of an independent south Sudan on July 9, 2011, and a definitive end to the conflict in Darfur," Obama said.