US President-Elect, Joe Biden, has announced the latest wave of appointments and nomination for his economic team. On the list, is a Nigerian-born attorney, Adewale ‘Wally’ Adeyemo, as deputy Treasury secretary. If confirmed, Adeyemo would be the first African American Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
He currently is the first President of the Obama Foundation in Chicago. He was a former senior international economic adviser during the Obama administration and will serve under Janet Yellen, who is set to lead the Treasury Department.
Biden-Harris Presidential Transition website describes him as “A leader with deep experience across both the economic and national security space, Adeyemo has served as a trusted adviser to the country’s foremost policymakers in times of crisis”.
Here are a few facts about him:
- He was born in Nigeria and raised in southern California’s Inland Empire.
- Adeyemo received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his JD from Yale Law School.
- Before and after his service in the Obama-Biden Administration, he has advised a range of leading non-profit and private sector organizations, including the Center for Strategic & International Studies.
- During the Obama-Biden Administration, Adeyemo served as the President’s senior international economic adviser and held a broad range of posts, including Deputy National Security Advisor, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, the first chief of staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and senior advisor and deputy chief of staff at the Department of the Treasury.