WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Grenada's former climate resilience minister Simon Stiell will become the new United Nations climate chief, UN Secretary General António Guterres announced on Monday.

Stiell will take over as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change with under three months before the latest round of climate negotiations at COP27 in Egypt.

He will replace Mexican diplomat Patricia Espinosa.

Stiell served for five years as Grenada's Minister for Climate Resilience until June 2022 and previously served as Minister for Education and Human Resource Development.

The UN called Stiell a "true champion for formulating creative approaches for our collective global response to the climate crisis" in a statement.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Chris Reese)