WASHINGTON -- Retired Adm. Dennis C. Blair, a former head of Pacific Command, will be nominated by President-elect Barack Obama as the nation's top intelligence official, according to news reports on Thursday citing unnamed sources.

Early reports from Reuters and MSNBC said Obama could make an announcement as early as Friday.

Blair, 61, was at the helm of Pacific Command headquartered at Camp Smith on O'ahu from February 1999 to May 2002, when he retired after 34 years in the Navy. He has a reputation of supporting diplomatic and political efforts instead of military confrontation.

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, said he was pleased Blair apparently has been selected for the position. The state's senior senator said he has worked with the admiral as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee and as someone involved in Asian-Pacific security issues.

"As a result of that experience, I believe he has the ability and background to serve our nation very well as its next intelligence chief," Inouye said.

The admiral, an Asia expert, has been on Obama's short list for some time as the person to oversee the U.S. intelligence system, which includes 16 spy agencies, and deliver the daily intelligence briefing to the president.

Blair, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a Rhodes Scholar, has held high-level positions such as director of the joint staff in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The admiral, who speaks Russian, also served as associate director of Central Intelligence for military support and on the National Security Council staff.

Until last year, Blair was president of the Institute for Defense Analysis, a U.S. government think tank in Washington that focuses on national security issues.