President-elect Joe Biden has picked a Jewish chief of staff in his first major White House appointment. 

A long-time aide to the Democrat, Ron Klain, 59, said it was “the honour of a lifetime” to serve Mr Biden.

Mr Biden said he had been “invaluable” over the years and praised Mr Klain’s “deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum”.

Mr Klain previously served as chief of staff under two former vice presidents, Mr Biden and Al Gore. 

He also coordinated the Obama administration’s response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and 2015.

He is married to environmental activist Monica Medina and they have three children together. 

The couple raised their children to be Jewish but celebrate Christmas for Ms Medina, according to The New York Times.

Growing up in Indiana, “not having a Christmas tree was very much part of our Jewish identity in a place where everyone else did,” Mr Klain told the newspaper in 2007.

Mr Klain, whose parents were a building contractor and a travel agent, edited the Harvard Law Review and was honoured for achieving the university’s highest grade average in 1985.