MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New Ministers for Latin America and Falkland Islands.

Two new Foreign Office Ministers have been given responsibility for Latin American and Falkland Islands issues -- Dr Denis MacShane, a former journalist and BBC producer, who replaces John Battle; and Baroness Amos, an academic, who takes over Overseas Territories affairs from Baroness Scotland.

For the first time since the 1982 Falklands War, responsibility for dealing with Latin America has been given to the most junior rank of Government Minister, Parliamentary Secretary, instead of the higher rank of Minister of State.

But Dr MacShane, who takes over the Latin America portfolio, has had several years of experience, since 1997, working within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence as parliamentary private secretary to several Ministers, including the former Minister of State for Latin America, Tony Lloyd.

Mr Lloyd was replaced in 1999 by John Battle who has now been dismissed by Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr Battle, age 50, who was returned as a Member of Parliament in the recent General Election with a huge majority, proved a popular visitor to the Falkland Islands earlier this year when he played the guitar and sang folk songs at a meeting in the Malvina House Hotel. He was a hard-working Minister both at the Foreign Office and Trade and Industry who listed Latin America as an area of special interest to him. He was one of 22 ministers replaced, 18 dismissed and four resigning.

Mr MacShane, who is 53, lists Europe and East and South Asia, but not Latin America, as his special areas of interest.

As well as Latin America, he also becomes responsible for South East Europe, North East Asia and the Pacific, the BBC World Service and the British Council. He gained a Master of Arts degree in Modern History at Oxford University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in International Economics at London University, and is the author of several books on international politics. He was President of the National Union of Journalists in 1978, and before that spent several years as a BBC producer. He is married with five children.

Switch in Overseas Territories Minister

Responsibility for the Overseas Territories, including the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the British Antarctic Territory, is given to a new Minister, Baroness Amos, aged 47. She has a string of academic degrees and is an honorary university professor. She has held several senior appointments in public life, including Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission.

She is a black pol