Dean Baquet, 57, has made history as the first African-American executive editor of the New York Times, the company announced Wednesday. 

He is replacing Jill Abramson, 60, the first woman appointed to the position in 2011. The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon to senior editors by Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., publisher and chairman of The New York Times.
“It is an honor to be asked to lead the only newsroom in the country that is actually better than it was a generation ago,” Baquet said according to the newspaper. “One that approaches the world with wonder and ambition every day,” he continues.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter was formerly the managing editor at the publication. Baquet was also a former editor of the Los Angeles Times. 
“There is no journalist in our newsroom or elsewhere better qualified to take on the responsibilities of executive editor at this time than Dean Baquet,” said Sulzberger.
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 (Photo: AP Photo/Fred Conrad, The New York Times)