UNITED NATIONS - UN CHIEF Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday named Bill Clinton as his special envoy to Haiti, a choice immediately hailed by the former president's wife, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

UN deputy spokesman Marie Okabe announced that the ex-president would 'help to jumpstart social and economic recovery efforts in Haiti' and 'focus attention on the importance of new partnerships and efforts among the private sector, civil society and donors as well strengthen local capacity.'

She added that the post, which is not a 'full-time job,' would be similar to Mr Clinton's previous service as UN special envoy for tsunami recovery after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Mr Clinton, who has sought to focus world attention on the Caribbean island which was devastated by hurricanes last year and is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, issued his own statement saying it was an 'honour' to be named to the post.

'Last year's natural disasters took a great toll, but Haiti's government and people have the determination and ability to build back better, not just to repair the damage done but to lay the foundations for the long term sustainable development that has eluded them for so long,' Mr Clinton said.

The US top diplomat, Hillary Clinton, endorsed the choice of her husband for the post.

'We think that Ban Ki-moon has chosen a high-profile envoy to raise the visibility of the needs of the people of Haiti,' she said. 'And it's the kind of partnership that we're looking for across the board.

'We had already begun putting a team together, led by my Chief of Staff and Counsellor, Cheryl Mills, to harness the support of the US government to assist Haiti,' she added. 'And this is going to be an added bit of leverage and focus for us that we can all work on together.'

For his part, Mr Ban said he 'is confident that President Clinton will bring energy, dynamism and focus to the task of sustaining world interest in Haiti's recovery and reconstruction efforts.' In March, Mr Ban and Bill Clinton toured

Haiti together and urged the international community to continue to aid the impoverished Caribbean country.

Mr Clinton, who visited Haiti while president in 1995, was the first US leader to travel to the country while in office since Franklin Roosevelt in 1934.