U.S. President Barack Obama has nominated government lawyer and former prosecutor Matthew Olsen to become the nation's next counterterrorism director.

The White House announced the choice on Friday. President Obama said Olsen has a “distinguished record of service” in the U.S. intelligence community and will be a critical part of his national security team.

The 49-year-old Olsen is currently the general counsel for the National Security Agency. He has also held high-level roles in intelligence and national security matters at the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

From 2009 to 2010, Olsen directed the task force that reviewed the intelligence on detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

If confirmed by the Senate, Olsen will take over the National Counterterrorism Center from current director, Mike Leiter, who is expected to step down in July.

Created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the center is charged with integrating and analyzing intelligence on terrorist groups from multiple agencies and producing assessments for the president and other top officials.

Leiter rarely played a public role in the war on terror during his more than four years running the agency, but President Barack Obama said he put the country in a stronger position to confront terrorist threats both at home and abroad.

Obama administration officials also said Leiter played a key role in crafting a new counterterrorism strategy. The new approach calls for increasing cooperation with other countries to keep pressure on al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.