Canadian Gen. Charles Bouchard taking over command of NATO’s mission in Libya

WASHINGTON – A senior White House official says a Canadian will take over command of the NATO mission in Libya.

The official says Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard, stationed in Naples, has been designated by NATO as head of the alliance’s military campaign in Libya.

Bouchard will work with "his naval and air component commands" to enforce the no-fly zone and the so-called civilian-protection mission in Libya.

Government sources in Ottawa have confirmed Bouchard’s appointment.

Bouchard was born in Chicoutimi, Que. His most recent job was deputy commander of NORAD, reporting to an American general.

Bouchard studied at the University of Manitoba and joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1974, graduating in 1976 as a helicopter pilot. Among his many postings, Bouchard once served with the U.S. Army at Fort Hood, Texas.

The international coalition confronting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has agreed to put NATO in charge of enforcing the no-fly zone. But it was still trying to hammer out a deal to relieve U.S. forces of command of all military operations in the country.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Defence Secretary Robert Gates have both said that American command of the operations would last only a few days.

American officials say Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reached a preliminary agreement on Thursday with her counterparts from Turkey, France and Britain. But Turkey raised last-minute objections, the Washington Post reported.