CHICAGO — The selection of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary on Wednesday puts a longtime public servant in a position that has recently been held by private-sector executives.
Richardson is a one-time rival of President-elect Obama who has spent almost his entire career in prominent government roles — as a governor, congressman, United Nations ambassador and Energy secretary. Obama cited the range of Richardson’s background in naming him to his economic team, saying he would be a domestic strategist and “a leading economic diplomat.”
“Bill Richardson is a leader who shares my values and he measures progress the same way I do: Are we creating good jobs instead of losing them? Are incomes growing instead of shrinking?” Obama said.
Richardson, 61, the first Hispanic selected for Obama’s Cabinet, delivered a key endorsement to Obama after dropping out of the Democratic race. Despite serving in the Clinton administration, he endorsed Obama over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Richardson’s nomination marks a break with recent choices for the agency. President Bush’s first commerce secretary, energy executive Donald Evans, was a close family friend. He was replaced by Carlos Gutierrez, former chairman of Kellogg Co.
Former commerce officials and interest group representatives with close ties to the department said Richardson’s diplomatic experience will help him promote international trade and protect the interests of U.S. companies, particularly in dealings with China.
“He has great relationships with foreign governments around the world from his U.N. experience,” said Stuart Eisenstat, former commerce undersecretary and ambassador to the European Union during the Clinton administration. “The center of gravity on trade has shifted, and I think he’ll be very, very active there.”
Richardson was a seven-term member of Congress before resigning to serve as Bill Clinton’s ambassador to the United Nations. He later served as energy secretary and was elected twice as New Mexico’s governor.
His diplomatic troubleshooting career included face-to-face meetings with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Cuba’s Fidel Castro and a host of North Korean officials. He once flew to a rebel outpost in Sudan to negotiate the release of three Red Cross workers.
Emphasizing the commerce secretary’s role in the economy, Obama cited Richardson’s experience in a variety of positions and called him “the best person for that job.”
“Bill has seen from just about every angle what makes our economy work and what keeps it from working better,” Obama said.
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