UNITED NATIONS – Secretary-General Annan yesterday appointed a Bush administration favorite, Christopher Bancroft Burnham, as undersecretary-general for management. He will be charged with overseeing reforms in the United Nations’ scandal ridden bureaucracy.

Mr. Burnham, who until recently served in a parallel role at the State Department, will join the United Nations on June 1, Mr. Annan announced yesterday. He will replace American Catherine Bertini, who recently resigned, in a post that is traditionally reserved for an American. There were two other top candidates for the job, both from other countries, according to the U.N. announcement.

“He was the U.S.’s choice,” the spokesman for the American U.N. Mission, Richard Grenell, said yesterday, referring to Mr. Burnham. “We think he’ll do a fantastic job.”

Mr. Annan joined in on the praise. “Mr. Burnham has led the effort to instill sound business-planning practices in all aspects of the State Department, from individual embassy business plans to the Department’s strategic plan,” he said in a statement.

Most Americans in Mr. Annan’s close circle of advisers have ties to the Democratic Party. The addition of a senior official who was a political appointee of President Bush is important, a U.N. official said yesterday, who requested anonymity to avoid the appearance of meddling in American politics. “It will give us a better read on the administration’s thinking and will help our communication with Washington.”

The nomination was announced on a day that the oil-for-food scandal gained visibility at a Senate hearing that was part of half a dozen open-ended congressional investigations on alleged wrongdoing related to the United Nations.

The organization’s deputy secretary-general, Louise Frechette, yesterday introduced to reporters a new reform package that she said was meant to answer “serious concerns among our staff.” She said that the package was designed to address lessons learned from the oil-for-food scandal, sexual exploitation among peacekeepers, and other “managerial improvements.” The application of the reforms will be handed over to Mr. Burnham.

The 50-year-old Mr. Burnham, a New York native and former Connecticut state treasurer, has served at the State Department since 2002, overseeing budgets, diplomatic security, human and information resources, and consular affairs. He has also worked as an investment banker, was elected three times to the Connecticut House of Representatives, and served 23 years in the Marine Corps.