Liz Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, will start work at the State Department within weeks as a deputy assistant secretary of state in the Near East bureau, the agency's spokesman said today.
The spokesman, Richard A. Boucher, said she would have an economic portfolio, which another United States official described as a mandate to promote economic liberalization and American trade and investment in the region.
Deputy assistant secretaries typically enter an executive corps distinct from most federal employees. According to government Web sites, the positions pay between $126,000 and $138,000 a year to workers based in Washington.
Mr. Boucher said Secretary of State Colin L. Powell had known Ms. Cheney for some time and that she was a ''very highly skilled individual'' who would bring important talents to the post, which had been vacant for more than a year.
''We're delighted to have Ms. Cheney join our team,'' Mr. Boucher said. ''She brings a very strong legal and economic background to her new position, having previously served with both the private and government sectors, including with U.S.A.I.D. and the Department of State,'' Mr. Boucher said.
