--- ---  # Ebola Czar Ron Klain Is a 'Top-Flight Lawyer and Savvy Politician' ## Video: Why Do People Fear Ebola? [Watch (HLS stream): Why Do People Fear Ebola?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/o73TUhFa.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2014-08-10. Jay Varkey, MD, Assistant Professor of Emory University School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases on treating Ebola patients and the fear that goes with it._  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 17, 2014 6:53 PM UTC  Lawyer and politcal operative Ron Klain on May 13, 2008 in New York City. Lawyer and politcal operative Ron Klain on May 13, 2008 in New York City.Andrew H. Walker—Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 17, 2014 6:53 PM UTC The White House confirmed Friday that [President Obama has picked Ron Klain](http://time.com/3516888/obama-ron-klain-ebola-czar/) as the Administration’s “Ebola czar.” In his new role, Klain will be the point person for coordinating the nation’s response to the virus. The appointment marks a return to public life for Klain, who formerly worked under vice presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden, but who has since spent several years in the private sector. Though it’s a departure from his current job, the oversight role will no doubt draw on the skills that Klain has spent decades developing. In fact, back in 1994 TIME named Klain — then Chief of Staff to Janet Reno — to its list of 50 people who would make up the next generation of leadership. Here’s what we said about him back then: --- > “” --- Over the decades that followed, that paragraph would not be the only time Klain would show up in the pages of the magazine. His name came up [in 2000](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,997333,00.html) when Al Gore was questioned about a 1996 campaign-finance scandal, and [throughout that year](http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2047824,00.html) as _Bush v. Gore_ progressed; John Kerry [praised](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,995276,00.html) his help on the campaign trail in 2004; he was [named](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2021061,00.html) as a possible replacement for Rahm Emanuel in 2010; he even [joked around](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2106999,00.html) with Joel Stein in 2012 after the Supreme Court cited a TIME article about Internet privacy. Today, as the U.S. and the world continue to fight the Ebola outbreak, Klain’s name in the news is sure to be an even more regular event. **_Read the introduction to the “50 for the Future” list that included such luminaries as Ron Klain, Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates, here in the archives:_** [The Real Points of Light](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,981947,00.html) Ebola Czar Ron Klain Career and History as Told by TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3517062/ron-klain-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3517062/ron-klain-history/"},"headline":"Ebola Czar Ron Klain Is a 'Top-Flight Lawyer and Savvy Politician'","datePublished":"2014-10-17T18:53:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:51:37.239Z","description":"The new Ebola czar is no stranger to making news","url":"https://time.com/3517062/ron-klain-history/","keywords":["White House","politics","health","ebola"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3243650babe96287/69876146f887dc8115e878f6/ron-klain-ebola-czar.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3243650babe96287/69876146f887dc8115e878f6/ron-klain-ebola-czar.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lawyer and politcal operative Ron Klain on May 13, 2008 in New York City.","caption":"Lawyer and politcal operative Ron Klain on May 13, 2008 in New York City.","creditText":"Andrew H. 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