WASHINGTON — David Jacobson, a Chicago lawyer and key fundraiser for Barack Obama during his run for the White House, has been named the U.S. ambassador to Canada.
The Obama administration announced the 57-year-old Jacobson’s widely anticipated appointment on Thursday.
The lawyer served as the deputy finance chairman of Obama’s presidential campaign.
He’s now working in the White House as a special assistant in the Office of Presidential Personnel, helping Obama fill dozens of vacant administration jobs.
Jacobson lobbied for the Canadian job, a source close to the Obama administration said earlier Thursday.
He considers Canada a plum posting, and some observers think his appointment represents a coup for Canadians.
Maryscott (Scotty) Greenwood, the executive director of the Washington-based Canadian-American Business Council, says Jacobson’s close relationship with the president will mean good things for Canada.
She calls his selection a “terrific choice, an inspired choice.”