Leon E. Panetta, a Washington insider turned academic, has been chosen to lead the Central Intelligence Agency under President-elect Barack Obama, Democratic officials told The New York Times and other news organizations today.
Mr. Panetta, a lawyer who served eight terms as a congressman from California, was White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton. He and his wife now direct the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy at California State University-Monterey Bay. The institute offers a master’s degree in public policy, holds a lecture series, and sponsors a Congressional internship program, among other activities. —Kelly Field
