Kosovo's Kouchner to quit

Bowing out: Kouchner says he is free now elections are over

The UN administrator in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, has revealed that he is leaving the job - and has suggested that the UK's Paddy Ashdown would be a worthy successor.

Mr Kouchner took over as Kosovo administrator last year, after the end of the Nato bombing campaign which drove Yugoslav forces out of the province.

He has just steered the province through a round of municipal elections, and told reporters he had decided in advance that it would be the right moment to go.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Ashdown, former leader of the UK's Liberal Democrat Party, said he would be interested in the job.

He intends to remain a MP until the next British general election but after that he said he would be looking for work.

Waiting in the wings: UK's Ashdown tipped for the job

"As I have frequently said, if there is any role I can play in securing or stabilising peace in the Balkans, then I would very seriously consider it," he said.

Mr Kouchner says he has met Mr Ashdown several times, and sees him as a good replacement.

A US source has told the BBC that Washington sees Mr Ashdown as the only serious candidate at the moment.

Mr Ashdown had previously been blacklisted by the US because he backs independence for Kosovo.

Officials now say Washington does not hold that view any longer.

I hope the secretary-general will be able to find a successor as extraordinarily talented as the man we have heard from today

US ambassador Richard Holbrooke

The BBC's Mark Devenport at the UN says the Americans remain keen to see Mr Kouchner staying in his job as long as possible.

US ambassador Richard Holbrooke said his leadership and guidance were essential.

"If and when Bernard Kouchner does leave, I hope the secretary-general will be able to find a successor as extraordinarily talented as the man we have heard from today," he said.

Mr Kouchner said he would stay in his post until UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had found a successor.

Disappointed

"I don't want to resign, and I don't want to corner anyone," he told reporters.

Mr Kouchner said he had always told Mr Annan that he would be free after the Bosnian elections and added: "So I am free."

Earlier this year Mr Kouchner tried and failed to get the job of UN High Commissioner of Refugees, and admitted he was still disappointed.

He is a founder of the doctors' charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, and was French minister of health before taking on the Kosovo job.