Washington, D.C. – John A. Beed was sworn in today as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission director to India. 

Beed assumes leadership as USAID’s India program engages in a new model of development cooperation.  Under this model, U.S. assistance is a powerful catalyst for the development of innovative solutions that can be scaled with funds from Indian public and private partners to support sustainable development in India and globally. 

John will inherit "one of the most innovative and creative Mission teams anywhere in the world, a team that has built partnerships with the rapidly emerging local private sector based in India that has come up with great technologies and business models that can tackle the end of extreme poverty," said Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of USAID.

A Senior Foreign Service Officer, Beed has served for more than 20 years with USAID in a variety of senior management positions.  Before arriving in New Delhi, he was the Deputy Mission Director in Egypt.  He also served as the Counselor for International Development at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo where he was responsible for promoting U.S.-Japan global aid collaboration in such areas as Afghanistan reconstruction, maternal and child health, public-private partnerships and relief fund recovery efforts following Japan’s devastating March 2011 earthquake.

Beed also served as USAID’s Mission Director in Paraguay and Deputy Mission Director and Supervisory Program Officer in Mexico.  He began his USAID career as a private enterprise officer in Egypt and in the Russian Federation following the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Beed was a legislative assistant for U.S. Representative Frank Wolf (Virginia). He received his BA in Political Science from Tulane University and an MA in Slavic and East European Studies from Florida State University.  He is married to Christine F. Beed and has three children.