WASHINGTON, D.C. – Gregory Gottlieb was sworn in today as the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission Director for Pakistan. USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah presided over the ceremony and administered the oath in the presence of family, friends, colleagues, and the Embassy of Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires, Asad M. Khan,

As Mission Director for Pakistan, Gottlieb will be responsible for managing USAID’s program with the objective of supporting the development of an economically vibrant, secure and stable Pakistan that promotes peace and security in South Asia. The USAID program in Pakistan is focused in five priority sectors:  energy, economic growth, stabilization, education, and health.

Gottlieb joined USAID in 1988 and will go to Pakistan as a Foreign Service Officer with the rank of Minister Counselor. Gottlieb most recently served as the senior deputy assistant administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Food Security, where he oversaw development activities associated with Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. <

Prior to working in the Bureau for Food Security, Gottlieb served as the USAID mission director in Namibia from 2008-2010.  Gottlieb also served as senior deputy assistant administrator in the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance from 2006-2008.

Gottlieb began his USAID career as the disaster response coordinator in Malawi, subsequently serving in Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. In 1999 he established the first regional USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance in Africa while serving as the senior regional advisor in Kenya. Much of his work has focused on improving disaster assistance as well as humanitarian and transition programs in order to ensure economic recovery. He has also served as a legal protection officer for UNHCR and as chief of party of the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network.

Gottlieb obtained his bachelor's degree from Humboldt State University in California, a law degree from Loyola Law School and a master's degree from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.