Facebook Hires Former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart

Joe Lockhart, who served as White House press secretary during President Bill Clinton’s eventful second term, will join Facebook as VP of global communications next month.

Lockhart, currently founding partner and managing director of the Glover Park Group, will manage corporate, policy and international communications for Facebook.

He will report to Elliot Schrage, who is the company’s VP of global communications, marketing and public policy, and work in a parallel role to Marne Levine, VP of global public policy.

Schrage said via email: “Joe’s arrival brings new skills and greater depth to our incredibly busy team. His experience building and running a press office at the White House gives him particular appreciation for the demands of a global 24-hour news cycle and the challenges of responding effectively to intense scrutiny. His experience launching and scaling a communications firm will help us as we seek to build our team and continue to offer great opportunities for growth and professional development.”

With Lockhart’s arrival July 15, Schrage will move his focus toward technology and policy communications, Facebook said.

Once Lockhart’s daughter completes her last year of high school, he expects to move from Washington, D.C., to join Facebook in Palo Alto (or at that point, Menlo Park).

Facebook has an ever-growing presence in Washington and in international politics. The company spent $230,000 on U.S. lobbying in the first quarter of this year, up from $41,000 in Q1 2010. Issues like privacy and expansion into China will continue to be controversial — and even more closely examined as Facebook prepares to and finally goes public.

There had been some very brief talk earlier this year about former Obama White House Secretary Robert Gibbs joining Facebook, but that didn’t happen.

Please see the disclosure about Facebook in my ethics statement.