Seasoned diplomat and academician Mohammed Hamid Ansari was on Friday unanimously chosen as the United Progressive Alliance-Left candidate for the post of vice president.

"All of us have come to unanimous understanding that Mohammed Hamid Ansari would be our candidate," Congress chief Sonia Gandhi announced in a statement issued after the UPA-Left coordination meeting in Delhi.

She said Ansari, currently chairman of National Commission of Minorities, has an "excellent record" of serving the nation in many capacities, including as civil servant and diplomat, as an academic and in his current position.