U.S. President-elect Barack Obama announced more White House staff on Wednesday, including his long-time friends.

"I am pleased to announce these new additions to our team, and I'll be relying on their broad and diverse experience in the months ahead as we work to strengthen our economy, reform Washington, and meet the great challenges of our time," said Obama's transition office in a statement.

Those who were announced the White House staff after Obama takes office on Jan. 20 included David Axelrod as senior advisor to the president, Lisa Brown as Staff Secretary, Greg Craig as White House Counsel, and Christ Lu as Cabinet Secretary.

Axelrod, who has been a political consultant for many prominent Democratic politicians and serving as a key strategist during Obama's campaign, was considered having played an important role in Obama's successful election.

Craig and Brown both have worked for former President Bill Clinton's administration, as a special counsel and Counsel to the vice president, respectively.

Lu, Obama's Chinese-American classmate in Harvard Law School, has worked for Obama in a number of roles in the past four years.

Currently, he is the Executive Director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project, managing day-to-day operations of the transition.

Other candidates are speculated by U.S. media to take key White House posts included James Steinberg, deputy national security advisor in the Clinton's administration who is named to head a national security working group for Obama's transition team.

Another close foreign policy aide, Susan Rice, assistant secretary of state for African affairs between 1997 and 2001, is considered to work alongside Steinberg.

(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2008)