WASHINGTON — Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu was appointed Friday to serve as chairman of the Republican National Convention's rules committee.

“I am honored that Chairman (Reince) Priebus asked me to chair the Committee on Rules and Order of Business,” Sununu said in a statement. “The decisions made by the Rules Committee will have a tremendous impact on our Party's capacity to do great things in the future. I look forward to working with the members on the Committee to produce a set of rules that will guide our Party as we work to better our country.”

The committee will have influence over the primary and caucus calendar for 2016 and Sununu said earlier Friday, “I think in this cycle, once again New Hampshire proved it knew how to do the right thing, not only for the Republicans but for America.”

Sununu, a top surrogate for Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, will be in a key position to help ensure that New Hampshire's presidential primary retain its first-in-the-nation status in 2016 and possibly beyond.