Perusalem - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has chosen the rector of an academic college to serve as the country's new ambassador to the United Nations, Israeli media said Wednesday.

Professor Gabriela Shalev, an expert in contract law, becomes the first woman to take over the high-profile post. She replaces Danny Gillerman, who has served as UN Ambassador for the past five-and-a- half-years.

Shalev's appointment was decided on by Livni and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and still has to be approved by the cabinet.

Shalev currently serves as the Rector of Kiryat Ono College, outside Tel Aviv. She was previously a professor of contract law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has held visiting professorships at various universities abroad, including Boston College, Glasgow Law School and Toronto University. (dpa)