A seasoned crisis-response operative and veteran of Democratic administrations and campaigns, Mr. Klain, 53, is charged with managing the federal efforts to monitor and contain the deadly virus that has touched off a wave of anxiety in the United States and raised questions about the competence of Mr. Obama’s administration.

Image Ron Klain, a former chief of staff for Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., in 2008. Credit... Revolution, via Associated Press

After Mr. Biden was elected vice president, Mr. Klain became his chief of staff, the same job he had served in under Al Gore. He is known for his ability to handle high-stakes and fast-moving political and policy challenges. Mr. Klain was the lead Democratic lawyer for Mr. Gore during the 2000 election recount, and was later played by Kevin Spacey in “Recount,” the HBO drama about the disputed contest.

His appointment came as Mr. Obama and his team stepped up their efforts to monitor Ebola, which has sown mounting fear among the public despite having infected only three people in the United States.

It has also intensified criticism of the Obama administration’s management of a major national challenge, fueled in recent days by reports that two health care workers were infected while caring for an Ebola-afflicted patient at a Dallas hospital, and one worker who subsequently flew on an airplane with a fever.

“What we were looking for is not an Ebola expert but rather an implementation expert, and that’s exactly what Ron Klain is,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary. “He is somebody who has extensive experience in the federal government. He’s somebody that has extensive management experience when it comes to the private sector.”