President Obama appoints 34yr old Nigerian, Adewale Adeyemo as his new deputy adviser for International Economic affairs

United States President, Barack Obama has
appointed a Nigerian national Adewale Adeyemo,
to succeed Caroline Atkinson as his deputy
national security adviser for international
economic affair, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Adewale "Wally" 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.
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 .
Mr. Adeyemo was the Treasury’s lead negotiator
on the currency agreement that was part of the
Pacific trade deal. He 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.
The statement from Obama reads:
"For the past four years, I have relied on Caroline
Atkinson, most recently as my Deputy National
Security Advisor for International Economics, as
we’ve navigated pressing challenges to the global
economy.
"As my representative at the G-7 and G-20, she
played a key role in coordinating our response to
international financial crises, worked with our
allies to devise and implement targeted economic
sanctions to advance our national security goals,
played a vital role in our economic engagements
with China, and helped to achieve breakthrough
agreements on climate that will strengthen our
economy and our security.
"I’ve relied on, and benefited from, Caroline’s
knowledge and judgment and, as she concludes
her tenure on my national security team, I am
deeply appreciative of her service.
"I am grateful that Caroline’s work will be carried
on by Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo, who has served
in my administration since 2009. At the Treasury
Department, he was part of the team that helped
coordinate our response to the global recession,
laying the foundation for renewed growth at home
and abroad.
“He helped establish the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau, and he’s been our point person
on a range of international economic issues,
including negotiations on strong currency
agreements around the Trans Pacific Partnership.
I will be calling on Wally’s intellect, judgment and
dedication as we sustain America’s global
economic leadership, which reinforces our
national security, and as we work with allies and
partners around the world to create jobs and
opportunity for all our people."
On his part, 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 Geihner 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.Mochael
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.