Washington, Jan 28: Obama's Indian origin first U. S. chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra is leaving the White House, an administration official has said.

The White House has confirmed that February 8 will be the last day of Chopra's tenure.

Chopra has been a supporter of integrating government and technology to create new products and services.

He was one of three authors of the White House blog post, and had criticized the controversial copyright legislation, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate's PROTECT IP Act.

Chopra joined the administration in May 2009. He previously had been managing director at The Advisory Board Co., a publicly traded health care think tank.

It was unclear what Chopra would do after leaving the White House but sources said he has been rumored to be mulling a political career.

US President Barack Obama thanked Chopra for his service in a statement.

"As the federal government's first chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra did groundbreaking work to bring our government into the 21st century. Aneesh found countless ways to engage the American people using technology, from electronic health records for veterans, to expanding access to broadband for rural communities, to modernizing government records," Politico quoted Obama, as saying

"His legacy of leadership and innovation will benefit Americans for years to come, and I thank him for his outstanding service," he added. (ANI)