Former Harvard professor of economics and current Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence H. Summers will succeed outgoing Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin '60, President Clinton announced at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden Wednesday.

Rubin's resignation, also announced at the press conference in Washington, had been expected.

Rubin has served as treasury secretary for four years and had recently made public his desire to give up that position and return to family life. His resignation comes as the Dow Jones treads the highest territory in its history and at a time of relative economic calm after years of global financial turmoil.

Though Rubin's shoes will be very hard to fill, Clinton said at the Rose Garden ceremony that he believed "rarely has any individual been so well-prepared to become secretary of the Treasury" as Summers.

Rubin also praised Summers' breadth of experience and personality.

"He possesses an extraordinary combination of great intellect, deep experience in the broad range of issues that he deals with, and an acute practical common sense as well as a very good sense of humor about himself," he said.

"We both share that because we both laugh at Larry," the outgoing treasury secretary quipped.

Summers, 44, received his undergraduate degree from MIT, and returned to teach there from 1979-82 after earning a Ph.D. from Harvard.

After leaving MIT, he served as a domestic policy economist on President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers from 1982-83.

In 1983, Summers became the youngest tenured professor in the history of the University when he was named professor of economics at Har- vard at the age of 28.

Four years later, he was named Ropes professor of political economy, a position he filled until 1993.

Summers has been a senior official at the Treasury for the duration of the Clinton administration. He was sworn into office as the deputy secretary of the Treasury on Aug. 11, 1995. Prior to that, he served as undersecretary of the treasury.

In remarks made Wednesday, Summers thanked his predecessors Lloyd Bentsen and Rubin.

"Secretary Bentsen set the Treasury on the right course, emphasizing deficit reduction, cooperation, for growth around the world," he said. He continued, "Secretary Rubin has seen the Treasury and the global economy as a whole through enormously challenging times with a steady hand."

He indicated his intent to continue to advocate similar policies, saying, "The right course has been set and the challenge is to carry on."

Richard E. Caves, who worked along-side Summers in the Economics Department and succeeded Summers as Ropes professor in 1997, yesterday called Summers "an outstanding research scholar, as evidenced by the fact that he received tenure at a tender age."