ADDIS ABABA, March 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Kenyan Nobel laureate WangariMaathai was elected the first president of the Interim General Assembly of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (AU-ECOSOCC), according to a AU statement Tuesday.

¡¡¡¡Professor Maathai, the Nobel peace laureate of 2004 for her work in environmental preservation, will preside over a bureau composed of four regional deputies.

    The statement said the interim general assembly also elected a standing committee of 18 members to coordinate the work of ECOSOCC,whose composition was based on the principle of gender balance andyouth representation.

    ECOSOCC is a vehicle for building a strong partnership between governments and all segments of African civil society and for achieving the goal of creating a people-centered African community,according to the statement.

    Elected officials of the AU-ECOSOCC have been sworn in at the AU Conference Center on Tuesday in Addis Ababa. Enditem