(Columbia-AP) Feb. 4, 2004 - A 33-year veteran of the FBI is Governor Mark Sanford's choice to run the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Sanford on Wednesday announced he plans to replace outgoing director Boykin Rose with James Schweitzer. The 55-year-old, a 33-year Federal Bureau of Investigation veteran, is a former chief of instruction at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Sanford says Schweitzer has demonstrated the public trust and is willing to think outside the box, "If you have a director of a law enforcement agency, you want somebody who has direct law enforcement experience. In Jim's case he has a lifetime of law enforcement experience."

Schweitzer's nomination must be approved by the South Carolina Senate.

Schweitzer is currently special agent in charge of the FBI's South Carolina headquarters in Columbia. He was previously the Assistant SAC of the Jacksonville, Florida, field office and was a field supervisor in the Atlanta field office. He will resign from that position if the Senate confirms him.

He says cross-agency experience will be a boon, "Ultimately, law enforcement, like so many other businesses, is a relationship business. We have to work together. We have to understand as best we can what each other's role is."

Rose's second four-year term ended on February 1st. He is currently serving as interim director. Rose took the token salary of $1 a year. The mid-range salary for the job is $134,000, but Sanford says he expects to Schweitzer will be paid less. His salary will be set by a commission.

Sanford criticized Rose's leadership during the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, saying people were forced to stand in line for hours at Division of Motor Vehicle offices, which was then part of the Public Safety Department. The DMV has since become a stand-alone agency that answers to the governor's office.

updated 3:30pm by Chris Rees