CHICAGO -- President-elect Barack Obama will name New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as his pick for commerce secretary during a morning news conference today in Chicago, Democratic officials said.

Mr. Richardson is the second southwestern governor Mr. Obama has tapped this week for his Cabinet, following Monday's announcement of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as his nominee for Homeland Security secretary.

The appointment is also the second time this week that Mr. Obama has rewarded a onetime rival with a Cabinet post. Like New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton -- Mr. Obama's secretary of state choice -- Mr. Richardson was a competitor for the Democratic presidential nomination.

A two-term governor, Mr. Richardson, 61, was rumored last summer to be a possible Obama running mate. He was also believed to be interested in the secretary of state job before Mrs. Clinton's selection.

A former energy secretary and United Nations ambassador during former President Bill Clinton's administration, Mr. Richardson has shown a knack for diplomacy. He has negotiated with dictators and worked to free hostages and those imprisoned, including a Pulitzer-Prize winning Chicago Tribune journalist jailed in Darfur.

After finishing a distant forth in the Iowa caucuses, Mr. Richardson dropped out of the presidential race in January and endorsed Mr. Obama in March. Securing the backing of the nation's top Hispanic elected official provided Mr. Obama with a major boost.

A Westerner schooled in the Northeast, Mr. Richardson has been a close friend of the Clinton family, a factor that made his endorsement of Mr. Obama especially striking.

Once confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Richard's role at the Commerce Department would be to oversee an agency that, among other concerns, gathers economic data, runs the Census Bureau, monitors the weather and deals with trade matters.

His selection is almost certainly to be praised by Hispanic groups, which have been lobbying hard for representation in Mr. Obama's administration.