Vision and leadership - positive signs for U.S. foreign policy and global development
January 11, 2010

Secretary Clinton outlines global development strategy
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton started off the new year with a major speech on global development. Now that Rajiv Shah is in place at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Daniel Yohannes has been sworn in at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, most of the administration’s global development team is complete. Clinton’s speech was the most detailed yet on the administration’s commitment to global development as a pillar of foreign policy and on the importance of reforming U.S. foreign assistance to more effectively reach our global development goals.

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah sworn in
After a year-long search to find the right leadership for the administration’s key global development agency, Rajiv Shah was finally sworn in on January 7th. Shah brings an extraordinary background to this new role – degrees in medicine and economics, extensive experience at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation helping launch their agriculture development program – and a profound commitment to improving the lives of poor people around the world. In his swearing-in speech, he outlines his priorities for rebuilding the expertise at USAID and for improving the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance.