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White House adviser Gayle Smith has been put forward as the next head of USAid.
White House adviser Gayle Smith, a former journalist and seasoned Africa expert, has been put forward as the next head of USAid. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
White House adviser Gayle Smith, a former journalist and seasoned Africa expert, has been put forward as the next head of USAid. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Barack Obama nominates Gayle Smith to take up reins at USAid

This article is more than 8 years old

White House adviser gets the nod to take helm at US Agency for International Development following resignation of Rajiv Shah

President Barack Obama has nominated Gayle Smith, a White House adviser, to run the US international development agency (USAid). If the move is confirmed by the Senate, Smith, a former journalist and long-time Africa expert, will be in charge of the Obama administration’s development agenda for the final years of his presidency.

Smith, the senior director for development and democracy at the White House’s national security council, has had a diverse career working on humanitarian efforts in and out of government, including a stint at USAid. She would replace the former USAid administrator Rajiv Shah, who announced his resignation last year.

Obama, in announcing Smith’s nomination, said Smith had earned his “full confidence” after working with him for nearly a decade, including six years in a top role at the White House.

“Gayle’s energy and passion have been instrumental in guiding America’s international development policy, responding to a record number of humanitarian crises worldwide, and ensuring that development remains at the forefront of the national security agenda at a time when USAid is more indispensable than ever,” the president said in a statement.

Smith, who worked for nearly two decades in Africa for news organisations including the Associated Press and the BBC, joins a small cohort of former journalists who have risen to senior ranks of foreign policy and national security in the Obama administration. UN ambassador Samantha Power, a vocal supporter of humanitarian action overseas, is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author, while Richard Stengel, the former managing editor of Time Magazine, holds a top role at the state department.

Obama’s decision to nominate Smith comes as the US seeks to ramp up its engagement and development activities in Africa, particularly as China invests billions to expand its influence on the continent.

Earlier in his second term, Obama unveiled a Power Africa initiative involving USAid. The scheme aimed to dramatically expanding access to electricity, although its effectiveness has been questioned.

USAid and the White House have also worked to drive the global response to the Ebola crisis in west Africa, where the epidemic appears to be receding at long last.

No stranger to Africa issues, Smith was the national security council’s Africa chief in the Clinton administration, a period during which she also served as an adviser at USAid. Yet the aid agency’s scope is far wider and, if confirmed, Smith will also be largely responsible for the US response to situations like the earthquake in Nepal and refugee crises in the Middle East.

“What’s inspired me most about Gayle over the years is her activist spirit, her dogged commitment to ensuring that, when change is necessary, we find a way to make it happen,” said the secretary of state John Kerry.

Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (Change), welcomed the nomination.

“In light of the Nepal earthquake, it is critical to have a seasoned leader at the agency to respond to this and other humanitarian crises,” she said. “We congratulate Ms Smith on this well-deserved nomination. She is uniquely qualified to lead the agency primarily responsible for delivering US foreign aid to respond to humanitarian and other crises and to eradicate extreme poverty.

“We hope that under her leadership there will be greater investment and coordination across agencies to respond to the health and human rights of women and girls globally.

USAid, which works closely with the state department, describes itself as the lead US government agency fighting poverty and promoting democracy around the world. Yet the agency has come under scrutiny over its procurement practices as well as its risky undercover work in hostile countries.

On resigning in December, Shah said he was leaving with “mixed emotions” but gave no public reason for his departure.

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