The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) of the United Nations made a milestone on Wednesday as it appointed a woman as its head for the first time.

The aviation arm of the U.N. has chosen as its new chief Fang Liu, who is a veteran Chinese air safety official .

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Fang is set to hold a three-year term as secretary general of  ICAO.

She is succeeding the post held by Raymond Benjamin from France.

She bested other tough candidates from India, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

Prior to her appointment, the aviation agency has never put a Chinese to its top post.

ICAO is an agency that sets non-binding international safety standards for airlines and regulators. It has 191 member-countries.

Liu is the currently working as director of ICAO's Bureau of Administration and Services.

Liu's bid to bag ICAO's top post was backed by her supporters in Beijing, who launched campaigns to convince the aviation arm's top policy-making body to choose her over the other aspirants.

The post of secretary-general in the 71-year-old agency has traditionally been held by men from Europe, North America and the Middle East.

The announcement comes, amid the robust growth of commercial aviation in China and other Asian countries.

It also happens at a period when Beijing seeks a bigger role in the activities of the United Nations.

ICAO says, its new leader has been at the helm of the agency's most important internal committees.

The aviation arm's choice is handed down at a time when its senior officials plan to urge some Asian countries to tighten regulations that govern their airline industries.

They expect Liu to give priority to this program.

Based on ICAO's data, from 2008 to 2012, about one-third of plane crash tragedies in Asia were due to "deficiencies in regulatory oversight."

Meanwhile, the expansion of China's aviation industry partly  depends on its government's stand on air route restrictions, and on how willing it is to open more spaces for commercial flights.

TagsICAO, Fang Liu, aviation