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"Tom Kean is a leader respected for integrity, fairness and good judgment. I am confident he will work to make the commission's investigation thorough. It is important that we uncover every detail and learn every lesson of September 11th," Bush said in a statement.

Kean, a Republican, replaces Henry Kissinger. Tapped to serve as chairman of the joint commission less than a month ago, the former secretary of state resigned Friday because he did not want "even the appearance of a conflict of interest" with the clients of his consulting firm.

Critics said Kissinger was stepping aside because he was not prepared to make public the list of his lucrative contracts, including many with foreign governments and other overseas entities.

The White House said Kean brings a unique strength to the panel, as he served on the board of directors of a company that lost 80 employees in the attacks.

"He has a very close relationship with the 9/11 families. They know this is a matter that is close and near to his heart. He is also a man of unparalleled integrity and judgment," said White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.

Kissinger's resignation was the second departure from the newly formed panel. Vice chairman and former Democrat Senate majority leader George Mitchell resigned early last week because, he said, he had not realized how much work was involved.

Fleischer told reporters that Kean's name had been floated during a South Lawn conversation between the president and Chief of Staff Andrew Card six weeks ago.

Fleischer said Bush wanted to move forward with the new appointments to get the commission "up and running." Kean would be reaching out to congressional leaders as soon as Monday, he said.

"As a former governor, he has great management experience in tackling difficult issues and making certain that the focus is on the bottom line and results for not only the American people, but for the families, particularly," Fleischer said.

Kean, president of Drew University in Madison, N.J., served as governor from 1982 to 1990. Bill Clinton appointed him to serve on the advisory board to the President's Initiative on Race and as chairman of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

Kean also served as vice chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Fourth U.N. World Conference on Women in 1995 and led the U.S. delegation to the World Conference on Education for All in Thailand in 1990.

He is the former chairman of Carnegie Corp. of New York and the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation. Spurred by a concern about the rising costs of higher education, Kean was co-chairman of the National Commission on Investment in Higher Education, a panel that issued the 1997 report "Breaking the Social Contract: The Fiscal Crisis in Higher Education."

Copyright 2002 by United Press International.

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