Mark Green, who directed USAID for two and a half years, is resigning and returning to private- sector work.
Green, a former Republican congressman, drew bipartisan support in the Senate when he was confirmed USAID administrator in 2017. He led USAID with a philosophy that foreign aid programs should create independent systems so that aid becomes unnecessary, while also stressing the importance of relief help in times of disaster or crisis.
“The purpose of foreign assistance is to end the need for its existence,” Green wrote to staffers. “The work of USAID every day provides a powerful return on investment to the American taxpayers for our national security, our economic growth — this generosity is simply in our DNA.”
As the head of USAID, he led disaster and emergency relief efforts in developing countries and was instrumental in combating the ebola virus in Africa. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Green for his leadership and work for USAID.
“Mark Green has been a brilliant Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and it is with deep gratitude and respect I wish him well as he returns to the private sector next month.
“Since his tenure as Administrator began in August 2017, he has worked to make USAID a stronger, more responsive agency – one that is defined and driven by the deep compassion of the American people. … I want to thank Mark Green for his many decades of public service, and know he is leaving his Agency in a strong and vital position to address the new challenges this century will bring to us.”
Pompeo cited the challenges USAID helped to address in Green’s tenure, including earthquakes in Mexico, cyclones in Mozambique, Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas, the outbreak of Ebola in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the plague of locusts in East Africa, and the spread of COVID-19, as well as political upheavals.