Washington Post National Editor Cameron Barr was elevated to the role of managing editor, replacing Kevin Merida, who was poached by ESPN in October.

Editor Martin Baron announced this morning that Barr would take the reigns of the news and features operations.

All of you know Cameron as a driven, focused, and super-smart journalist. During his nearly three years as national editor, and in his previous positions at The Post, Cameron has directed coverage of some of our biggest and most challenging stories, always with intelligence and a deep reservoir of energy.

He encourages and supports ambition in imagining our journalistic possibilities. He is resourceful in assuring that we deliver on what we set out to accomplish. He displays quick, competitive reflexes in responding to news. And he is a rigorous and elegant editor of copy.

Cameron has embraced The Post’s digital aspirations. He oversaw the launch of PowerPost and The Daily 202. The national staff’s live blogs pop up fast when major news breaks, drawing huge numbers of readers online. Some of our most successful new initiatives – notably Post Nation, Speaking of Science, Checkpoint, and To Your Health – have been launched under his watch and with his enthusiastic guidance.

Barr joined the Post in 2004 after more than a decade as a foreign correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. He held numerous editing positions on the Post‘s foreign and national desks before becoming national editor in 2013.

Photo via Barr’s Twitter account