President Obama on Friday announced his intention to nominate Jane Holl Lute as the deputy secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, succeeding Paul Schneider.
Lute is currently the assistant secretary-general for Peacebuilding Support at the United Nations, overseeing a multi-billion dollar budget. She joined the U.N. in August 2003 as assistant secretary-general for Mission Support in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
After a career in the Army, which included a three-year stint as director of European Affairs on the National Security Council in the Clinton Administration, Lute headed up the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict and also was the chief operating officer of the U.N. Foundation and the Better World Fund, two entities that were established to administer media mogul Ted Turner’s $1 billion donation to support the goals of the U.N.
Lute’s husband is Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, named in 2007 by former President Bush as assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Separately, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that Noah Kroloff will be her chief of staff for Policy and that Jan Lesher will be chief of staff for Operations. Lesher and Kroloff served as chief of staff and deputy chief of staff when Napolitano was governor of Arizona.