New USAID Mission Director for Angola Sworn In

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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.

USAID Public Information: 202-712-7810

SOURCE U.S. Agency for International Development

USAID Press Office, +1-202-712-7320