He replaces South African lawyer Nicholas Haysom who was expelled by Somali authorities for questioning their legal basis for arresting opposition activists.

James Swan will have his work cut out dealing with the Mogadishu administration led by Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed.

He has spent most of his career serving in African countries undergoing complex transitions.

Swan was US Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Djibouti. He also served in Cameroon, Nicaragua and Haiti.

Haysom has been reassigned by UN boss Antonio Guterres to mediate in finding a solution between pro-democracy demonstrators and the military council that ousted Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir.

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