The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that commissioner Walter Lukken has been elected to serve as acting chairman of the derivatives regulator, following the resignation of chairman Reuben Jeffrey III.

Lukken will exercise the executive and administrative functions of the commission until a new chairman has been appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. senate.

Jeffery has served as chairman since July 2005, and announced his intention to resign from the commission effective today. He has been appointed Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs.

In assuming the office of acting chairman, Lukken said, “I am honored to have this opportunity and look forward to working with my fellow commissioner, Mike Dunn, on the important public policy matters facing the commission.”

Prior to his appointment to the CFTC, Jeffery served as special assistant to the president and senior director for International Economic Affairs at the National Security Council.

“The continued evolution of a truly international marketplace will only serve to fuel growth in both trading volume and new initiatives. I have every faith and confidence that the CFTC will be successful in meeting the challenges that the future holds, and that it will continue to protect the public interest and integrity of the U.S. commodity futures and options markets,” he said.