Pascal Lamy of France, candidate for the post of WTO Director-General, gives a press conference at the World Trade Organization in Geneva after a special session of the general council.(AFP)

Former European Union trade chief Pascal Lamy of France was confirmed as the new head of the World Trade Organisation, the WTO said.

A session of the ruling General Council of the 148-member WTO formally approved a decision made public earlier this month by a selection team, it said in a statement.

Lamy is scheduled to take up his four-year mandate on September 1, when current WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand ends his term.

He said he would spend the next few months preparing for the job.

The WTO, which sets the rules for global commerce, is largely steered by its members, using a sluggish system that Lamy once dismissed as "medieval".

But the director general also plays an important role, prodding recalcitrant governments and helping build compromise in an effort to drive trade talks forward.

"I am honoured that the WTO's 148 members have today decided to appoint me director general," Lamy said in a written statement.

As trade relations between leading WTO members such as China, the United States and the EU grow increasingly bad-tempered, Lamy can expect a tough challenge.

His key task will be to maintain momentum in the three months before ministerial talks in Hong Kong in December, which are meant to cap the Doha Round of global trade negotiations.

"I believe we have a crucial task ahead to complete the Doha development agenda round of trade talks, this will be my immediate first, second and third priority," Lamy said.

The round, aimed primarily at liberalising global commerce in a manner that benefits poorer nations, has stumbled repeatedly since it was launched in 2001, mainly because of discord between rich and poor countries.

Kenya's trade ambassador Amina Mohamed, who headed the selection process, said Lamy -- who jogs to relax -- would have his work cut out.

"I hope that by the time the 1st of September comes, Mister Lamy will have changed from being a marathon runner into being a sprinter, because we have only three months left from September to December," she told journalists.

"We will need to have a lot of work done during that very short period, so we're all very hopeful that by the time he comes we will on our side have done enough work for him to run to Hong Kong."  

(Agencies)

sluggish : with little movement; very slow（行動遲緩的）

recalcitrant: marked by stubborn resistance to and defiant of authority or guidance（反抗的，反對的）