Statement by the Press Secretary on the Attorney General Nomination

Tomorrow, the President will announce his intent to nominate U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch to be the Attorney General of the United States. The President will make the announcement in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, and will be joined by Attorney General Holder and Ms. Lynch. Ms. Lynch is a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one of the most important U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the country.  She will succeed Eric Holder, whose tenure has been marked by historic gains in the areas of criminal justice reform and civil rights enforcement.

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Antony Blinken – Deputy Secretary, Department of State
• Adewale Adeyemo – Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development, Department of the Treasury
• David Avren Jones – Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
• Michael D. Kennedy – Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, and upon appointment to be designated Chairman
• Marisa Lago – Deputy United States Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, Office of the United States Trade Representative
• Nicholas J. Rasmussen – Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence  

President Obama said, “I am grateful that these talented and dedicated individuals have agreed to take on these important roles and devote their talents to serving the American people.  I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Antony Blinken, Nominee for Deputy Secretary, Department of State
Antony Blinken is Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor, a position he has held since 2013.  From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Blinken was Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor in the Office of the Vice President.  Previously, he was Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008.  From 2001 to 2002, he was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  In the Clinton Administration, he served on the National Security Council staff as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs and as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning and Speechwriting.  He also served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs at the Department of State.  Mr. Blinken received a B.A. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Adewale Adeyemo, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development, Department of the Treasury
Adewale Adeyemo is the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department of the Treasury, a position he has held since 2012.  Mr. Adeyemo has served in various positions at Treasury since 2009, including Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff and Deputy Executive Secretary.  He also served as the Chief of Staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2010 to 2011.  Prior to joining the Administration, Mr. Adeyemo served as an Editor for the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution from 2008 to 2009.  Mr. Adeyemo received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

David Avren Jones, Nominee for Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
David Avren Jones is a Member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, a position he has held since 2011.  Mr. Jones founded D.A. Jones LLC, where he serves as an independent advisor and trustee for families and their entities.  Previously, Mr. Jones served as a Managing Director and the Senior Client Executive at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management in New York from 1994 to 2003, after holding various trading and sales roles in the Capital Markets Group.  Prior to that, he ran an investment advisory firm, Bannister Capital Management, from 1991 to 1994 and from 1988 to 1990, he served as CEO of Citicorp Securities Markets, Inc. in New York.  Previously, Mr. Jones worked at Goldman Sachs as the Fixed Income Trading Manager in London.  He has served as a member of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, as Vice Chairman of the Primary Dealers Committee, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Securities Association.  Mr. Jones serves as the Chairman of Fund for the Aged, Inc. and was previously the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Home Lifecare System in New York.  Mr. Jones received a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Michael D. Kennedy, Nominee for Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, and upon appointment to be designated Chairman
Michael D. Kennedy is Chairman and a Member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, positions he has held since 2011 and 2010, respectively.  Mr. Kennedy is a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry International, a position he has held since 1998.  Prior to joining Korn Ferry, Mr. Kennedy founded a venture capital consulting firm, where he advised a Southeast-based private equity fund.  Previously, Mr. Kennedy was a Vice President in the corporate finance group at GE Capital Corporation and a Vice President in the U.S. corporate group at the Wachovia Corporation.  His financial services career began with J.P. Morgan's Investment Management Group in New York.  Previously, Mr. Kennedy served as a member of Leadership Atlanta, the Atlanta Venture Forum, and the Harvard Business Club of Atlanta.  He also served as a Member and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia pension fund, Chairman of the Board of Visitors at the University of North Carolina, and a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Phillips Exeter Academy.  Mr. Kennedy received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Marisa Lago, Nominee for Deputy United States Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, Office of the United States Trade Representative
Marisa Lago is the Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development at the Department of the Treasury, a position she has held since 2010.  Since 2013, she has concurrently served as the Acting United States Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.  Previously, Ms. Lago served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Empire State Development from 2008 to 2009.  She was the Global Head of Compliance for Citigroup's corporate and investment bank from 2003 to 2008 and headed the Office of International Affairs for the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1997 to 2001.  From 1994 to 1997, Ms. Lago served as Boston's Chief Economic Development Officer and was General Counsel for New York City's Economic Development Corporation from 1990 to 1994.  She clerked for Judge Hugh. H. Bownes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.  Ms. Lago received a B.S. from Cooper Union and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Nicholas J. Rasmussen, Nominee for Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Nicholas J. Rasmussen is currently Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), a position he has held since 2012.  From 2007 to 2012, Mr. Rasmussen was a member of the National Security Council (NSC) staff, where he served as a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism.  He held senior policy and planning positions at NCTC from 2004 to 2007, and from 2001 to 2004 he served as Director for Regional Affairs in the Office of Combating Terrorism on the NSC staff.  Previously, Mr. Rasmussen served at the Department of State (DOS), where he was Special Assistant to the Special Middle East Coordinator from 1996 to 2001 as well as Special Assistant to Ambassador-at-Large Robert Gallucci from 1994 to 1996.  He also served as a Foreign Affairs Analyst in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at DOS from 1991 to 1994.  Mr. Rasmussen received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Presidential Proclamation -- World Freedom Day, 2014

WORLD FREEDOM DAY, 2014

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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

For nearly three decades, the Berlin Wall divided a nation and stood as one symbol of a system that denied individuals the freedoms that are the right of every person. It separated families and suppressed free will and self-determination -- but while it tried to contain the yearnings of a courageous and unwavering people for liberty and justice, it could not crush them. Twenty-five years ago today, Germans from East and West came together to tear down the Wall and begin the work of building an open and prosperous society. On World Freedom Day, we honor a generation that refused to be defined by a wall, and we reaffirm our commitment to stand with all those who seek to join the free world.

The images of this extraordinary event are seared in our memory and enshrined in our history: brave crowds climbing atop an old barrier and Berliners reuniting in city streets. But the victory of 1989 was not inevitable. We will not forget those who risked bullets, dug through tunnels, leapt from buildings, and crossed barbed wire, minefields, and a mighty river in pursuit of freedom. In their struggle -- and in the memory of all those who did not live to see Berlin united and free -- Americans see our own past, as well as the spirit of citizens around the world who long for opportunity and are willing to do the hard work of building a democracy.

America stood with those on both sides of the Iron Curtain who held fast to the belief that a better future was possible, and as the Berlin Wall fell, it spurred a more integrated, more prosperous, and more secure Europe. Today, Germany is one of our strongest allies. And as we pay tribute to our shared past, we are reminded that upholding peace and security is the responsibility of every nation. There is no progress without sacrifice and no freedom without solidarity, and we cannot shrink from our role of advancing the values in which we believe.

The story of Berlin shows us that with grit and determination, we have the power to shape our own destiny, even in the face of impossible odds. As we celebrate a triumph over tyranny, we also recognize that the challenges to peace and human dignity continue in our complex world and that complacency is not the character of great nations. Let us resolve to extend a hand to those who reach for freedom still and continue the pursuit of peace in our time.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 9, 2014, as World Freedom Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, reaffirming our dedication to freedom and democracy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.

BARACK OBAMA