The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency was meeting a day after 62-year-old Amano secured the necessary two-thirds majority in six rounds of secret ballots.

Under the agency's rules of procedure, his appointment then had to be approved "by acclamation" at a second board meeting, this time open to all 146 IAEA member states.

He was duly "acclaimed" on Friday afternoon, with no countries raising any objections, a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The next and final hurdle will be the IAEA's general conference in September. And once it has the green light, Amano will take over from Mohamed ElBaradei when he steps down at the end of November.

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