WASHINGTON — Edith Ramirez, a former appellate and antitrust lawyer who served on the staff of the Harvard Law Review with Barack Obama and later coordinated his campaign’s outreach to Latino voters in California, will be appointed by the president to be chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, the agency said on Thursday. She begins work on Monday.

Ms. Ramirez, who is Latina, would be the first member of an ethnic minority to be appointed to oversee the nearly 100-year-old commission. The F.T.C. is the nation’s primary consumer protection agency and shares responsibility for enforcement of antitrust laws with the Justice Department.

A Southern California native and a daughter of Mexican immigrants, Ms. Ramirez has served since April 2010 on the commission, where she voiced strong support for industry self-regulation and for preserving competition.

By elevating a current commissioner to the top role, the White House avoids having to wait for the Senate to confirm the nomination. Until a nominee for Ms. Ramirez’s former seat is approved, however, the commission will have a 2-2 split between Republican and Democratic members.