The SEC announced Wednesday that Mary Jo White was sworn in asits 31st chairman.

She was nominated by President Obama on Feb. 7 and confirmed bythe U.S. Senate on April 8.

“It is an honor to lead the talented and dedicated SEC staff onbehalf of America's investors and markets,” White said in astatement. “Our markets are the envy of the world precisely becauseof the SEC's work effectively regulating the markets, requiringcomprehensive disclosure, and vigorously enforcing the securitieslaws.”

White succeeds Mary Schapiro, who stepped down on Dec. 14 after serving at theSEC's helm since 2009 as the agency's first female chairman.

SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter was serving as chairman in the interim.

The SEC said White specialized in prosecuting complex securitiesand financial institution frauds and international terrorism caseswhen she served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District ofNew York from 1993 to 2002.

Under her leadership, the office won convictions against theterrorists responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World TradeCenter and the bombings of American embassies in Africa.

Prior to becoming the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District ofNew York, White served as the first assistant U.S. attorney andlater acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New Yorkfrom 1990 to 1993.

White also previously served as an assistant U.S. Attorney forthe Southern District of New York from 1978 to 1981 and becamechief appellate attorney of the criminal division.

After leaving her U.S. attorney post, White became chair of thelitigation department at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York,where she led a team of more than 200 lawyers. She previously was alitigation partner at the firm from 1983 to 1990 and worked as anassociate from 1976 to 1978.

White earned her undergraduate degree, Phi Beta Kappa, fromWilliam & Mary in 1970 and her master's degree in psychologyfrom The New School for Social Research in 1971. She earned her lawdegree in 1974 at Columbia Law School.

The SEC said White has won numerous awards in recognition of heroutstanding work both as a prosecutor and a securities lawyer. The2012 Chambers USA Women in Law Awards named her Regulatory Lawyerof the Year.

Among other honors she has received are the Margaret Brent WomenLawyers of Achievement Award, the George W. Bush Award forExcellence in Counterterrorism, the Sandra Day O'Connor Award forDistinction in Public Service, and the “Women of Power andInfluence Award” given by the National Organization for Women.

White is also a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyersand the International College of Trial Lawyers. She also has servedas a director of the NASDAQ Stock Exchange and on its executive,audit, and policy committees and is a member of the Council onForeign Relations.