The White House announced today the appointment of Dick Lobo, president and CEO of Tampa PBS station WEDU-Ch. 3, to head the International Broadcasting Bureau -- the government department which runs Voice of America and the broadcast outlets aimed at Cuba, Radio and TV Marti.

Lobo, 73, still must be confirmed by the Senate, so he may not be leaving Tampa soon. But the executive, whose wife Caren spearheaded fundraising for Barack Obama in Florida during the 2008 election, will eventually leave for Washington D.C. if confirmed, working under the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

Last year, Lobo announced plans to retire from WEDU seven years after taking the reins at the then-troubled station. He had already come out of one retirement to help the Tampa outlet past a fiscal crisis, having spent the first 40 years of his work life at commercial network
TV affiliates in New York, Miami and Chicago. WEDU has hired an executive search firm to help with the process.

This latest appointment isn't entirely new for Lobo. Back in 1994, he was appointed by President Clinton to run the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which oversees Radio and TV Marti. Radio and TV Marti regularly faces criticism from political opponents who say the stations, which are often jammed by the Cuban government, are a waste of money.

A grandson of Cuban immigrants and graduate of the University of Miami, Lobo will be inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of fame in March.