ARTICLE - GARRY CONILLE - 3RD PICK FOR PM

BILL CLINTON AIDE NAMED AS HAITI'S 3RD PICK FOR PM
(AP) - By Trenton Daniel

PORT-AU-PRINCE — A recent top aide to former U.S. President Bill Clinton in his work as the U.N. special envoy for Haiti is being nominated to be Haitian prime minister, a legislative leader said Wednesday night.

Saurel Jacinthe, president of the Chamber of Deputies, told The Associated Press that Haitian President Michel Martelly picked Garry Conille as his third nominee for Haiti's head of government.

The decision comes more than three months after Martelly took office. The entertainer-turned-president has struggled to install a government because parliament has rejected his first two nominees for prime minister.

Martelly's first pick, an entrepreneur, was turned down because of questions over his citizenship and taxes. The second pick, a former justice minister, angered some lawmakers because he was accused of prosecuting supporters of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide when he oversaw the judiciary in the middle of the last decade.

The failure to install a prime minister has put reconstruction efforts from last year's devastating earthquake on hold.

Conille, 45, could meet opposition as he goes before parliament for approval.

Lawmakers are almost certain to raise questions over his eligibility because he has not lived in Haiti for five consecutive years, a constitutional requirement for the post. The Martelly administration will likely argue that he is exempt from the residency requirement because he has been working for the United Nations.

Conille is a seasoned development worker. With a master's degree from the University of North Carolina and a doctorate from the State University of Haiti, he began his career with the U.N. in 1999 and served in Ethiopia and, until June, in Niger.

After last year's earthquake, Conille worked as chief of staff for Clinton in his position as U.N. special envoy. The former U.S. leader also is co-chairman of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which is in charge of coordinating earthquake reconstruction efforts.

If approved as prime minister, Conille would assume responsibilities as the other co-chairman on the reconstruction panel, which has drawn heavy criticism for making little visible progress since the January 2010 disaster.

Conille could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday night.