PORTLAND, Ore. -- Multnomah County chair Ted Wheeler has been appointed to the office of State Treasurer, Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced Tuesday.

Wheeler will fill the vacancy created by the passing of Treasurer Ben Westlund, who died of cancer over the weekend.

Wheeler said he will resign as Multnomah County chair effective Thursday. Chief Operating Officer Jana McLellen will become acting chair and the county commissioners will select an interim chair to serve until the end of 2010.

In a statement on his Web site, Wheeler wrote that he will file for election and join the race for the State Treasurer job this fall. The Associated Press reported that he may have competition in the May primary from Democratic state Sen. Rick Metsger, of Welches.

The Treasurer serves as the chief financial officer for the state and is responsible for the financial management of billions of taxpayer dollars.

Wheeler was elected to Multnomah County Chair in November 2006 with 70 percent of the vote. He previously worked in the financial industry for Bank of America and Copper Mountain Trust.

He graduated from Lincoln High School, earned a bachelor of arts degree from Stanford University and a masters in business administration from Columbia University. He also obtained a masters in public policy from Harvard University.

“Ted Wheeler brings the perfect balance of expertise from both the public and private sectors to this job with an impressive record managing the county’s budget to a working knowledge of the financial industry,” Kulongoski said in a statement.

In addition to managing taxpayer dollars, Wheeler will also serve as the state’s chief investment officer, and has the duty of investing money of the Public Employees Retirement Fund, the State Accident Insurance Fund, the Common School Fund and numerous smaller funds.