UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is to appoint Martin Kobler of Germany as head of the UN mission in Iraq, a spokesman said Friday. Kobler, 58, is currently deputy UN special representative for political affairs in Afghanistan and had served in the German foreign ministry for 25 years before joining the UN. UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Kobler is to replace Ad Melkert of The Netherlands as chief of the UN mission in Iraq. But the timing of the official appointment has not been set.