OTTAWA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The outgoing commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), William Elliott, has been appointed to a three-year term as the international police agency Interpol's Special Representative to the United Nations, an Interpol press release said Thursday.
Elliott's job will be to "enhance co-operation between Interpol and the United Nations and its agencies on matters of terrorism, transnational organized crime and international police co- operation," the release said.
Elliott, who will start the New York-based position in November, replaces Harper Boucher, a former RCMP deputy commissioner. Former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli also took a senior posting with Interpol in Lyon, France, after resigning in 2006.
His appointment came at a time when the federal government is in the throes of searching for his replacement as he had told the government early this year that he was stepping down from the RCMP.
The Canadian police chief has faced some controversy during his time in the job, with his management style criticized by senior officers and suggestions that he needed anger-management training.
Elliott, a career civil servant without a policing background, has been the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police since July 16, 2007.
