WASHINGTON: Career civil servant Frank Ruggiero has replaced his late boss Richard Holbrooke as the acting special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, the State Department said Tuesday.

Ruggiero joined US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a National Security Council meeting Tuesday at the White House that focused on the annual review of Afghanistan policy, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.

“He has assumed the acting SRAP (Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan) responsibility. He is at the White House as we speak,” Crowley told reporters after Holbrooke died on Monday from complications from a torn aorta.

Ruggiero became Holbrooke's deputy in July 2010 after serving as the senior US civilian representative for southern Afghanistan.

He served as acting assistant secretary for political-military affairs from January to June 2009.

He is a career civil servant who has served not only in the State Department but also in the Commerce Department.