ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Christian Johansson is resigning as Maryland’s secretary of Business and Economic Development.

Gov. Martin O’Malley announced Wednesday that Johansson is leaving public service to join Laureate Education, a Baltimore-based global education firm.

O’Malley has appointed Dominick Murray to replace Johansson. Murray has served as deputy secretary of the department since 2007.

Johansson began on the job in January 2009, in the wake of the financial crisis. Among his major initiatives was InvestMaryland, a program that raises seed money for Maryland companies through an online tax credit auction.

Johansson says the state has added almost 98,000 jobs since the beginning of the economic recovery, which makes up for most of the jobs the state lost during the recession.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)