Obama set to name Richardson as commerce chief

US President-elect Barack Obama is expected to nominate New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to head the Commerce Department, a senior Democratic source said today.

Mr Obama is expected to announce the appointment during a news conference scheduled tomorrow in Chicago, his fifth since he began naming nominees for his Cabinet.

The appointment of Richardson, a former UN ambassador and energy secretary who became an Obama supporter earlier this year after dropping his own presidential bid, would make him the first Hispanic named to Obama's rapidly filling Cabinet.

Last week Mr Obama announced members of his economic team including his nominee for Treasury secretary, New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner, and this week he unveiled his national security team including his designate for Secretary of State, New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

Mr Richardson (61) had been a contender for the secretary of state post that went to his former Democratic presidential rival Clinton, but at Commerce he will play a key role in efforts to revive the faltering US economy.

Reuters