WASHINGTON — The Senate today approved the nomination of Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske as the nation's drug czar, signaling a change in U.S. drug policy.

Kerlikowske, a 36-year law enforcement veteran who has been Seattle's top cop for nine years, has pledged to take a balanced, science-based approach to the job. He also said he will focus on reducing demand for illicit drugs in the United States — a sharp contrast from the Bush administration's focus on intercepting drugs as they cross the border and punishing drug crimes.

"Our nation's demand for drugs often fuels drug production and trafficking, as well as violence and corruption, within other nations," Kerlikowske, 59, said at his confirmation hearing for the job of director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The position is commonly known as the drug czar.

"Domestic drug use directly funds the terrible drug-related crime currently wracking Mexico and fuels illegal armed groups in Colombia," Kerlikowske said, adding that while he and other officials will work to reduce the international drug supply, "the greatest contribution we can make toward stability would be to reduce our demand for illicit drugs" in the United States.