Longtime federal prosecutor Don Burkhalter has been selected interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the selection Thursday.

Burkhalter replaces Stan Harris, who had been acting U.S. attorney for the state's 45 southern counties. Harris had been serving since Dunn Lampton retired in January.

Harris, a member of the Mississippi Army National Guard, was deployed to Iraq as a member of the 155th Brigade Combat Team.

Burkhalter served in the Department of Justice in Washington for more than 10 years and in the United States Attorney's office in Jackson for more than 20 years.