French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday announced that former Moscow bureau chief and European editor Nicolas Miletitch would be its new Editor in Chief.
Miletitch, 52, who takes over his new job on Monday, will be replaced as editor in chief for the agency's Europe and Africa coverage by Annie Thomas, 45, who has been serving as deputy editor for the past two years.
Miletitch, who joined AFP in 1977, was posted to Moscow from 1978 until he was thrown out in 1981. He then joined the foreign desk before becoming Belgrade bureau chief from 1988 to 1994, before his accreditation was scrapped by the regime of former president Slobodan Milosevic. He then became deputy foreign editor from 1994-1998 and Moscow bureau chief from 1998-2001.