The international nuclear watchdog based in Austria has elected a Japanese diplomat as its leader, ending a months-long stalemate.

Yukiya Amano, formerly Japan's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, will be its director general when Mohamed ElBaradei retires in November, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Amano competed with South African candidate Abdul Samad Minty for the directorship.

Amano, who barely captured the necessary two-thirds vote of the IAEA board of governors, must now be approved by the governors and the general conference in open session. The vote by acclamation was expected to happen Friday, board chairwoman Taous Feroukhi said.

"I will do my utmost to enhance the welfare of human beings, (and) ensure sustainable development through the peaceful use of nuclear energy," Amano said after the board of governors vote at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna.