The US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly confirmed General David Petraeus, the commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan, to become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Senate voted 94-0 to approve President Barack Obama's choice to head the CIA. Petraeus, 58, will succeed Leon Panetta, who begins his tenure as defence secretary on Friday, dpa reported.
Petraeus, however, is not expected to take up his new post until September. Instead, he will remain in his current job to oversee the initial US withdrawals from Afghanistan announced by Obama last week. CIA deputy director Michael Morrell will oversee the agency until Petraeus arrives.
Obama said 10,000 US troops are to be pulled out this year, with another 23,000 set to come out by September 2012. Before taking on his role in Afghanistan, Petraeus was the chief of US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the South Asia and the Middle East.
Petraeus was highly regarded for his time as head of US forces in Iraq and is widely credited for developing the counterinsurgency strategy that helped turn the tide of the war.
Obama has named Lieutenant General John Allen, the deputy commanders of Central Command, to replace Petraeus in Afghanistan. Petraeus intends to retire from the military before heading to the CIA.
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