Vanuatu's president Baldwin Lonsdale has appointed a private lawyer, Arnold Kiel Loughman, as the new Attorney General.
He replaces Ishmael Kalsakau, who was elected to parliament in last January's snap elections and has since become the opposition leader.
According to the Daily Post newspaper, Mr Loughman's appointment was a close call between himself and a former Supreme Court Judge and former Attorney General, Ham Bulu.
Mr Loughman is a graduate of the University of Papua New Guinea as well as the University of Sheffield in Britain.
He is the son of a late former member of parliament of Tanna, John Loughman.
