US President George W. Bush (L) introduces US Court of Appeals Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr., as his nominee to replace US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, at the White House in Washington, DC. (Xinhua/AFP photo)

US President George W. Bush on Monday nominated Samuel Alito, a strong conservative jurist, to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, after White House Counsel Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination last week.

By announcing his new choice, Bush moved quickly to find a replacement after Miers, his long-time associate, withdrew her supreme court nomination Thursday amid strong opposition from conservatives from Bush's own Republican camp who questioned her credentials.

Praising Alito as "one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America," Bush said he hopes the Senate will confirm the nomination by year-end.

Alito, 55, was born to a family of Italian migrants in New Jersey.

He graduated from Yale University and served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the US Justice Department between 1985 and 1987.

In 1990, Alito was nominated by former President George W. H. Bush as a judge for the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals and has been sitting on the bench there since then.

Although his judicial credentials and experience are almost undisputed, the fact that Alito is a strong conservative will likely incur strong opposition from Democrats during the confirmation process in the Senate.

"The Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a leading Democrat, said after Bush announced the nomination.

The US Supreme Court, which comprises a chief justice and eight associate justices, all life-long appointees, is enormously influential in American life, giving the final ruling on matters related to the US Constitution.

Source: Xinhua