President-elect Joe Biden on Monday made two historic appointments as he prepares to take over the White House. Biden announced the nomination of Janet Yellen as his Treasury Secretary, making her the first woman to hold that position if confirmed. Biden also named Adewale Adeyemo as his nominee for Deputy Treasury Secretary. Adeyemo will become the first Black person to serve in that role and the highest-ranking African immigrant in the Biden-Harris administration, and possibly in any administration thus far.
39-year-old Adeyemo who goes by Wally was born in Nigeria. He currently serves as the Obama Foundation president. He moved to the United States with his parents when he was just “a baby,” according to the New York Times. He grew up in Southern California where his father was a teacher and mother a nurse. Adeyemo and his two siblings, a younger brother and sister, grew up sharing a two-bedroom apartment.
Prior to joining the Obama Foundation, he had been president Obama’s senior international economic advisor after Obama had appointed him deputy national security advisor and deputy director of the National Economic Council. In that role, he was responsible for coordinating the policymaking process on international finance, trade and investment, energy, and environmental issues, according to a profile of him by the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a Think Tank that he advises.
Adeyemo received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.
“This crisis-tested team will help lift America out of our current economic downturn and build back better—creating an economy that gives every single American a fair shot and an equal chance to get ahead,” the Biden-Harris transition team tweeted after Biden announced the members of his economic team.
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About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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