WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush named White House counsel Alberto Gonzales as the new US attorney general and the highest ranking Hispanic in any US administration.
Gonzales replaces John Ashcroft, whose resignation was announced Tuesday. It is one of several changes expected to be made following Bush's re-election last week to a new four year term.
Gonzales, 49, is one of eight children of poor Mexican migrant workers and one of Bush's closest advisors in his first term.
He previously served as a judge in Texas, where Bush was governor before becoming president.
Ashcroft became a regular target of the Democratic opposition while he was attorney general, but Gonzales duties as the top legal official at the White House have also caused controversy.
He has defended the administration's right to detain war on terrorism suspects indefinitely without charges and to deny them access to lawyers or courts.
The White House was embarrassed earlier this year by the release of a Gonzales memo that said some provisions of the Geneva Conventions were "obsolete" and "quaint".
Gonzales also fought Congress to keep the details of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy commission meetings secret.
But Bush said at the ceremony announcing the appointment that Gonzales "has upheld the highest standards of government ethics."
The appointment to a position which Bush said is one of the "most challenging" in the administration has to be confirmed by the US senate.
"Over the past decade, I've also come to know the character of this man. He always gives me his frank opinion. He is a calm and steady voice in times of crisis. He has an unwavering principle of respect for the law," said Bush.
"As the nation's chief law enforcement officer, Al will continue our administration's great progress in fighting crime, in strengthening the FBI, and improving our domestic efforts in the war on terror.
"As a steward of civil rights laws, he will ensure that Americans are protected from discrimination, so that each person has the opportunity to live the American dream, as Al himself has done."
Bush also praised the work of Ashcroft who was one of two top officials to announce resignations on Tuesday. Commerce Secretary Don Evans, another Texan ally, also left the administration.
"In four years, he's reorganized the Department of Justice to meet the new threat of terrorism. He has fairly and forcefully applied the Patriot Act and helped to dismantle terrorist cells inside the United States," Bush said of Ashcroft.
11/10/2004 - 22:36 GMT - AFP