WASHINGTON – Asian Americans on Friday hailed Pete Rouse as the first White House chief of staff from the community, adding to a record representation in President Barack Obama's administration.

Mr Rouse, whose mother is Japanese American, was appointed Friday to take over as Obama's right-hand man, succeeding Rahm Emanuel who stepped down to run for mayor of Chicago.

Representative Mike Honda of California, a member of Mr Obama's Democratic Party who heads the Asian American caucus in Congress, said that Mr Rouse's appointment would 'bring even more colour to a historically all-white house.'

'This is ground-breaking considering that a mere 60 years ago, Japanese Americans were corralled into internment camps at the height of World War II,' said Mr Honda, who himself was interned due to his Japanese ancestry.

Mr Rouse's mother was born in the United States as Mary Mikami, the daughter of Japanese immigrants. The new chief of staff's grandfather was born in Tokyo in 1864 and moved to Alaska where he worked as a tailor. Mr Rouse, 64, is a veteran Washington insider who served as Mr Obama's chief of staff when he was a senator.