WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today the swearing in of Randall Peterson as its new Mission Director for Angola. The Counselor to the Agency, Ambassador James Michel, presided at the event and administered the oath to Mr. Peterson.

As director for USAID's mission in Angola, Peterson will oversee a program totaling about $ 39 million annually to carry out programs in democracy and governance, health, and economic growth. Health programs account for 75%, the largest portion of the budget. The 27 years of civil war, which followed the Angolan war for independence, ended in 2002 and left Angola's infrastructure and social fabric in ruins. Angola scores low on most global measures of socio-economic development. The country has enormous mineral resources, abundant agricultural land and water, an energetic leadership and people poised to realize the huge potential of their country. Angola is the second-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa and the seventh largest supplier to the United States. That, along with the potential of a stable and prosperous Angola for increasing regional stability and economic growth, gives the United States a strong stake in Angola's internal stability and prosperity.

Peterson has spent most of his career working overseas in international development. He has worked for USAID since 1983 in Latin American missions, including Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. He also served two tours in Africa - one in Somalia in the late 1980s and one in Botswana in the early 1990s.

Before joining USAID, Peterson served as an international economist at the Department of Labor, and helped U.S. firms become more competitive globally through the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program.

Peterson received a Master's Degree in International Economics from Georgetown University and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin. He is married and has two children.

For more information about the U.S. Agency for International Development, visit our Web site at www.usaid.gov.