Obama Appoints A Nigerian, Adewale Adeyemo, As Deputy National Security Adviser (Photo)

President Barack Obama has tapped
Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo, who served in
top roles at the Treasury Department, to
succeed Caroline Atkinson as his deputy
national security adviser for international
economic affairs.
Ms. Atkinson has served in her current
post since June 2013, a position that
includes coordinating U.S. participation in
the annual summits of the Group of 20 and
Group of Seven countries. Ms. Atkinson
also played key roles in the recently
concluded climate negotiations in Paris and
in pushing the White House’s trade agenda,
including the Trans-Pacific Partnership
trade agreement.
Mr. Adeyemo, 34, joined the White House’s
National Economic Council as deputy
director this fall from the Treasury, where
he served most recently as the deputy chief
of staff to Secretary Jacob Lew. He was the
Treasury’s lead negotiator on the currency
agreement that was part of the Pacific trade
deal.
Mr. Adeyemo also worked on Treasury’s
response to crises in Ukraine and Greece
and in 2010 was one of the first officials
charged with standing up the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau.
In a statement, Mr. Obama thanked Ms.
Atkinson for her service and said he was
grateful that Mr. Adeyemo would carry on
her work. Mr. Adeyemo had been
nominated by Mr. Obama to serve as
assistant Treasury secretary for
international markets and development,
but a White House official said Mr.
Adeyemo had asked the president to
withdraw the nomination given his new
role.
Mr. Lew said that Mr. Adeyemo had
“developed a network of international
relationships in economic offices around
the world to promote U.S. interests
effectively.”
Former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner
said Mr. Adeyemo, who joined the
administration in 2009, was a “natural
diplomat with a great feel for policy.”
The position has served as a springboard to
even higher profile international finance
posts. Michael Froman, who is currently
the U.S. trade representative, held the post
under both Mr. Obama and President Bill
Clinton.
Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard,
who previously served as a senior Treasury
official in the Obama administration, held
the post in the Clinton administration.