Washington, DC – Maureen A. Shauket was sworn in today as the new Mission Director for Kosovo for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The oath was administered by USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah.

As Mission Director for Kosovo, Shauket will oversee USAID's effort to help Kosovo become a stable, democratic, and economically viable country within Europe. The key objectives of USAID's assistance include: solidifying the rule of law, building government capacity, readying the energy sector for privatization, improving infrastructure, developing private enterprise and promoting reconciliation and minority rights.

Prior to her appointment as Mission Director, Shauket served as USAID's Senior Procurement Executive, Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO), and Director of the Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA). She has led major improvements to the Agency as one of the lead architects of USAID's Implementation and Procurement Reform. She established the Board for Acquisition and Assistance Reform to review major procurements and she directed the Agency's acquisition savings plan, which realized over $171 million in savings in 2010. Shauket began her USAID career nearly two decades ago in the Pakistan Office of Project Development and Monitoring. She has served as a Contracting Officer in the Regional Center for Southern Africa in Botswana, a Supervisory Contracting Office in Bangladesh, and the Director of the Regional Contracting Office for USAID's Regional Services Center in Hungary.

Before her position as CAO and Senior Procurement Executive in October 2007, Shauket was the Deputy Director for Operations in OAA. She is the first woman to be designated Chief Acquisition Officer and Senior Procurement Executive in the history of USAID.

Shauket holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University. She is a member of the Senior Foreign Service with a personal rank of Counselor. In addition to the USAID Award for Ethics, she is the recipient of four Meritorious Honor Awards.

During her remarks at the ceremony, Shauket stated, “I am delighted that I have been given the opportunity to return to the Europe and Eurasia Bureau. It is a time of great challenge and great opportunity in Kosovo and I am honored to contribute to the excellent work that USAID is doing to further the country's remarkable development progress. I look forward to working with the entire US Government team to leverage our development impact in Kosovo.”

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