Leavitt would replace Christine Todd Whitman, who quit in June. His nomination must be approved by the US Senate.

Leavitt, 52, has been governor of Utah since 1993. He previously headed an insurance company.

Bush made the announcement in Denver, in the neighboring state of Colorado, while on a fundraising tour for his 2004 presidential campaign.

"I selected Mike Leavitt because he is a trusted friend, a capable executive and a man who understands the obligations of environmental stewardship," Bush said.

Leavitt is the former chair of the National Governors Association. He is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

"If the Senate confirms my nomination, it will require that I conclude the service of a decade to a state I love and to people I love," Leavitt said.

"But I may do so knowing that the air is cleaner than when I arrived, that the water is more pure, that the land is better cared for and that the people are more safe. I'm leaving it a better place than I found it."

Whitman, considered a moderate Republican, left her post after just 30 months. She was also a former governor, of New Jersey.

Soon after her nomination, she came up against the powerful environmental lobby, angered by Bush's decision to back out of the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming.

Many White House policies were similarly criticized, such as the lowering of standards for factory emissions as well as foresting on public lands and forest fire prevention.

Bush, on a stopover in neighboring Arizona, took the opportunity to defend the forestry bill, which had been adopted by the House of Representatives but not by the Senate.

Environmental groups said that the plan would allow businesses greater access to exploit national forests.

SPACE.WIRE