WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United States President Barack Obama on Friday appointed Ms Caroline Atkinson, a former journalist who has worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the US Treasury Department and the Bank of England, to be deputy national security adviser for international economics.

Ms Atkinson will take the position vacated by Mr Michael Froman, who became the US trade representative. She will serve as the President's senior international economic adviser, the White House said in a statement.

Ms Atkinson is currently special assistant to the President on international economic affairs, a job she took in August 2011.

She has played a key role in the administration's response to the European economic crisis and in US interactions at the G-8 and G-20 summits of industrialised nations and emerging market economies, the White House said.

"Caroline is respected around the world for her understanding of how the global economy works, her tireless efforts to promote strong, balanced and sustainable growth and her experience in managing international financial crises," Mr Obama said in a statement.

Ms Atkinson was head of external affairs at the IMF, and previously worked on international monetary and financial policy at the Treasury Department and regulatory policy at the British central bank.

In her career as a journalist, Ms Atkinson worked at the Washington Post, the Economist, and the Times of London, the White House said.