UNITED NATIONS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Jose Viegas Filho of Brazil as his new Special Representative for Guinea-Bissau and head of the UN's integrated peacebuilding office, or UNIOGBIS, in the country, his press office said Friday.

Filho succeeds Modibo Toure of Mali who will complete his assignment on May 6, said Farhan Haq, adding that Guterres is grateful for Toure's leadership and for the accomplishments of the mission during his tenure at UNIOGBIS.

Filho has four decades of experience in government service and diplomacy. His most recent assignment was as ambassador of Brazil to Italy from 2009 to 2012. He also served as minister of defence of Brazil from 2003 to 2004.

Previously, Filho headed the Brazilian delegations that negotiated the reform of the Tlatelolco Treaty for the denuclearization of South America (1992 to 1993) and the global ban on anti-personnel landmines (1995 to 1997).

Filho was born in Brazil in 1942. He is a graduate of the Instituto Rio Branco, a graduate school of international relations and diplomatic academy in Brasilia.