Washington, DC - Today, Charles North was sworn in as Mission Director of the USAID Mission to Russia at a ceremony officiated by Hilda Arellano, Counselor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

As Mission Director, North will oversee USAID's annual $50-$60 million Russia program which focuses on health, civil society, rule of law, local governance, conflict mitigation, the environment, energy, business development, and media exchanges. From 2000-2003, North served at USAID/Russia as the Director of the Program and Project Development Office, with an annual program budget of $95-$100 million.

Most recently, North served as Senior Deputy Director of USAID's Afghanistan and Pakistan Task Force and Advisor to the Assistant Administrator for the Asia Bureau. In his Task Force position, North supported two of USAID's largest programs, with a combined 2010 budget of $4.8 billion. Previous positions include Director of USAID's Policy Office in the Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination, and Regional Director for the Western Hemisphere in the Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance in the State Department. As Regional Director, he coordinated a $1.5 billion annual assistance budget across federal agencies, and he helped launch the $1.6 billion dollar presidential initiative to support Mexico and Central America in battling organized crime and drug trafficking.

Mr. North joined USAID in 1987 and has served in Washington, D.C., Kenya, Sudan, El Salvador, Mozambique and Russia.

North is a 2004 graduate of the National War College, with an M.S. Degree in National Security Strategy. In 1987, he received a Master's Degree in Public and Private Management from Yale University, and in 1982 a B.A. in Economics and African Studies from Wesleyan University.

For more information about USAID, visit www.usaid.gov.