WASHINGTON, August 1, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Bypassing the Senate where his controversial nomination had stalled, US President George W. Bush appointed Monday, August 1, John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.

"This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about UN reform," Bush said during a joint public appearance with Bolton, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"So today I've used my constitutional authority to appoint John Bolton as America's ambassador to the United Nations," he added.

The nomination of controversial Bolton, 56, to the prestigious post has met stern objections in the Senate.

Many Senators, including some Republicans, have been critical of Bolton's unabashed hostility to the United Nations and harsh management style.

Unable to sell his nominee to the American lawmakers, Bush was widely expected to use the little-known measure called a recess appointment to install Bolton until a new Congress is sworn in in 2007.

Following his enforced appointment, Bolton pledged to work for a "stronger, more effective" United Nations while promoting US interests and values at the world body.

"We seek a stronger more effective organization, true to the ideals of its founders, and agile enough to act in the 21st century."

He also vowed to work tirelessly to advance the agenda of Bush.

"It will be a distinct privilege to be an advocate for America's values and interests at the UN and, in the words of the UN Charter, to help maintain international peace and security," Bolton said.

Senate Democrats have grilled conservative Bolton as "damaged goods". (Reuters)

Top Senate Democrats had warned that his appointment without Senate confirmation cast doubt on US credibility.

"He's damaged goods. This is a person who lacks credibility," Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, a top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Fox News Sunday.

"This would be the first UN ambassador since 1948 we've ever sent there under a recess appointment. That's not what you want to send up, a person that doesn't have the confidence of the Congress," Dodd added.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat, told CNN's "Late Edition" that a recess appointment would "send him (Bolton) there with a cloud over his head."

The Senate confirmation of Bolton's nomination had been stalled since March amid rounds of partisan haggling.

Bush waited until the Senate adjourned for summer on Friday and used his powers to push Bolton through as a recess appointment.

Bolton served as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security from May 2001 until June 2004, during which time he advocated a hard line against Iran, North Korea and other states feared by Washington to be developing nuclear weapons.

He often criticized the United Nations as being ineffective and led a Bush administration failed effort to oust International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei.