President George Bush reshuffled his diplomatic and intelligence teams today in the first of a series of new appointments expected as he maps out the next stage of his Iraq strategy.

John Negroponte, who was appointed America's first overall intelligence chief in early 2005, was nominated to become Condoleezza Rice's deputy in the State Department. To take his place, Mr Bush nominated Vice Admiral Mike McConnell, a former National Security Adviser.

Making the announcement at the White House this morning, Mr Bush urged Congress, which came under Democratic control yesterday for the first time since 1994, to approve the appointments "as quickly as possible". Today's nominations are expected to be first of a series of reshuffles that will replace America's top two generals in Iraq and Ambassador to the UN.

Mr Negroponte's return to the State Department from his position as the National Intelligence Director — a job created after the 9/11 Commission and invasion of Iraq exposed poor co-ordination between America's 13 separate intelligence agencies — has been widely interpreted as a demotion.

But Mr Bush today said he was asking the former ambassador to Iraq and the UN, who will lose his authority of an intelligence budget of nearly $40 billion, to become Ms Rice's number two at "a crucial moment".

"John Negroponte’s broad experience, sound judgment and expertise on Iraq and the war on terror make him a superb choice as deputy secretary of state," said Mr Bush.

The President's choice to take over from Mr Negroponte, a career diplomat who became the US Ambassador to the UN days after the September 11 attacks, is Vice Admiral McConnell, a man with almost 40 years of experience of US intelligence work.

First commissioned as an intelligence officer in the Navy in 1967, Vice Admiral McConnell served in Vietnam, Japan and the Middle East before becoming the top military intelligence adviser to the Defence Secretary and Joint Chiefs of Staff during the collapse of communism.

He was responsible for briefing General Colin Powell, then America's top military commander, during the Gulf War in 1991-1992, and went on to become President Clinton's National Security Adviser from 1992 to 1996.

Today Vice Admiral McConnell said he was looking forward to taking over what many have described as the forbidding task of uniting America's disparate spying agencies. President Bush said was confident that his nominee, who last held public office ten years ago, had the "experience, the intellect and the character to succeed".

With expectations mounting that President Bush will announce a temporary deployment of 20,000 to 40,000 extra American troops in Iraq next week, a further spate of appointments was anticipated in Washington today.

Mr Bush is expected to nominate Admiral William Fallon, the commander of US forces in the Pacific, to replace General John Abizaid, the head of US Central Command, who has overall authority over the American missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lieutenant General David Petraeus, who has been training the Iraqi army, is rumoured to take over from General George Casey, currently in charge of US forces there.

The Associated Press reported that another possible nomination will be that of Zalmay Khalilzad, the current US Ambassador to Iraq, to become the next Ambassador to the UN, with Ryan Crocker, the Ambassador to Pakistan, taking his place in Baghdad.

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