WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed President George W. Bush's choice of Pete Geren as secretary of the Army, replacing Francis Harvey, who quit over poor care for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Geren, who has been serving as acting secretary since Harvey's departure in March, was unanimously approved by the Senate. Geren had served as undersecretary of the Army since Feb. 21, 2006.

He joined the Defense Department in September 2001 as a special assistant to then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Geren served as a Democratic member from Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 until his retirement in 1997. He served on the Armed Services, Science & Technology and the Public Works and Transportation committees.

Before joining the Pentagon, Geren was an attorney and businessman in Fort Worth, Texas.

Harvey quit as the Army's top civilian after revelations about poor outpatient care at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the flagship Washington, D.C., military hospital. Defense officials said Secretary Robert Gates had asked for his resignation.

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