The Obama administration nominated on Tuesday a young former executive with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to run the top US assistance program, ending months of speculation and complaints about who would take the vacant post.

Rajiv Shah, a medical doctor who holds a senior position at the Agriculture Department dealing with food security, will bring "fresh ideas" and an "impressive background" to the U.S. Agency for International Development, President Barack Obama said in a statement announcing the nomination.

Shah's selection, which requires Senate confirmation, would end a 10-month leadership vacuum at USAID, which has been operating with an acting director since Obama took office despite his campaign pledges to have the agency play a greater role in foreign policy.

Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have said USAID is crucial to deploying their preferred "smart power" foreign policy strategy, which envisions more equal roles for diplomacy and development alongside defence. They plan to double the amount of foreign aid.

The agency will play a key role in the administration's efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where officials believe the civilian component must be strengthened.

The top job at the agency has remained vacant until now, with several prime candidates withdrawing from consideration amid a White House vetting process that Clinton denounced in July as "ridiculous," "a nightmare" and "frustrating beyond words."

For many in international development, Shah's nomination was a welcome and overdue.

"It's about time," said Samuel Worthington, president of Interaction, a coalition of humanitarian organizations.

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