FACTBOX - New U.S. commanders for Mideast and Iraq

(Reuters) - President George W. Bush will nominate Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, to lead operations across the Middle East as the next head of U.S. Central Command, the White House said on Wednesday.

Bush will also nominate Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, a former number two to Petraeus, to return to Baghdad as the top commander for Iraq.

Following are some facts about the two men.

U.S. ARMY GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS

* Petraeus is a fiercely competitive, media-friendly soldier who holds a doctorate in international relations from Princeton University.

* Having served two previous tours in Iraq, he took command of U.S. forces there in February last year with the country on the verge of all-out civil war.

* Petraeus implemented a new strategy that brought in a "surge" of some 30,000 extra U.S. troops and pushed forces off larger bases and into smaller outposts to protect Iraqis from insurgent attacks.

* Overall violence in Iraq dropped 60 percent from June of last year until late last month when fighting flared again in the southern city of Basra and in parts of Baghdad.

* Petraeus has also played a high-profile role in defending the Iraq war before the U.S. Congress, where Democrats sceptical about the conflict hold a majority.