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Comey, 52, the seventh director in FBI history, served as deputy attorney general from December 2003 through August 2005 under President George W. Bush. He was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York before that.
He replaced Robert Mueller, who stepped down after 12 years as director.
"Jim has dedicated his life to defending our laws -- to making sure that all Americans can trust our justice system to protect their rights and their well-being," Obama said to the assembled press and guests. "He’s the perfect leader for an organization whose walls are graced by the words of a legendary former director: 'The most effective weapon against crime is cooperation.'"
Obama nominated Comey for the position in June. The Senate confirmed his nomination with a vote of 93-1 in late July.
From 2005 to 2010, he worked as general counsel at Lockheed Martin Corp.
In 2010, Comey became general counsel of the Westport-based hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. Earlier this year, he left Bridgewater to become senior research scholar and Hertog Fellow on National Security at Columbia University Law School in New York.
"I am so grateful for this honor and this opportunity to serve with the men and women of the FBI," Comey said at the event. "Those three words in the FBI's motto -- Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity -- capture the essence of the FBI and its people. And they also explain why I am here. I wanted to be here to work alongside those people, to represent them, to help them accomplish their mission, and to just be their colleague."
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