The Washington Post has named Kevin Merida its managing editor in charge of news and features, effective immediately.

He joins managing editor John Temple, who oversees digital and newsroom operations.

“Kevin is a journalist of remarkable accomplishment, with a record of strong leadership," Marty Baron, the executive editor of the Post, said in a statement. "I’m delighted to have him leading coverage across the entire newsroom."

Merida, a Washington, D.C. native, most recently served as the Post's national editor, leading coverage of events from the BP oil spill and the killing of Osama bin Laden to the 2012 presidential election and fiscal cliff negotiations.

A Post spokeswoman declined to comment about his replacement.

Merida is the co-author of the biography “Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas,” and the co-author of the bestselling “Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs.”

Updated at 1:55 p.m. PT with comment from the Post on Merida's replacement.