U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has tapped Rexon Ryu to be his next chief of staff, replacing the outgoing Mark Lippert who was appointed U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Foreign Policy has reported.
Ryu formerly worked as a foreign policy adviser to Hagel when the latter served as a U.S. senator, and observers say it’s not surprising he was named to be the Defense Secretary’s right-hand man. He is said to mesh well with Hagel’s leadership style, according to John Lettieri, who was formerly Ryu’s Senate deputy, the FP article said. “He’s one of the few people who can hit the ground running in this position,” Lettieri told the publication.
In a statement to FP, Hagel said Ryu “is a proven talent when it comes to working with the interagency, Congress, and outside groups and he will be a tremendous asset to the Defense Department. [I] have long relied on [Ryu’s] counsel and wise perspective on national security matters.”
Ryu leaves his position as a deputy to the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and is reportedly already starting his transition to the new Pentagon post this week. Waiting for him will be a sizable list of pressing security issues, including ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), Ukraine and Syria, according to the Foreign Policy article.
The Korean American has had plenty of experience in foreign policy and national security issues. Ryu formerly served as a special assistant to former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, and the Washington Post called him a “confidant” to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell. As a former assistant to National Security Adviser Jim Jones, Ryu one one of a handful of directors who worked on nonproliferation issues at the National Security Council, with a specific focus on Iran and Syria.
When he was on Hagel’s Senate staff, the then-Nebraska lawmaker credited Ryu with having “a good global assessment of reality and policy … and can talk simply, straightly, directly.”
Top photo: Rexon Ryu (left), from a 2008 picture. Photo via Foreign Policy.
