An Afghan-Canadian academic was named the new governor of Kandahar province Thursday.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered the job to Tooryalai Wesa, 58, of Coquitlam, B.C., during a lunch meeting earlier in the day.
An agricultural expert at the University of British Columbia, Wesa grew up near Kandahar City. He's lived in B.C. for about 13 years, where his wife also works at UBC. They have three daughters.
The governor's post has been filled by two different people in the past eight months.
Former army Gen. Rahmatullah Raufi left the post in early December. He has said he was fired for running afoul of regional power brokers.
Raufi replaced Gov. Asadullah Khalid, whose tenure was marred by allegations he was personally involved in the torture of at least one prisoner in Kandahar. Khalid denied the reports.
Former Canadian foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier committed a diplomatic blunder earlier this year by publicly musing that Khalid should be fired.
The gaffe reportedly forced Karzai to delay firing Khalid for several months.
The governor of Kandahar is generally considered Canada's biggest ally in the volatile southern province where the bulk of the roughly 2,700 Canadian troops are stationed.
Canadian soldiers are working alongside NATO and U.S.-led coalition forces in an effort to restore security in the region that is a hotbed for Taliban activity.
Since the mission started six years ago, 103 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.
