Washington, D.C. - Azza El-Abd was sworn in today as the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission Director for Serbia.  USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Paige Alexander administered the oath.

As Mission Director for Serbia, Ms. El-Abd will be responsible for managing USAID’s program with the objective of supporting Serbia’s efforts to strengthen democratic practices and institutions, increase economic growth, and improve the quality of education.

Ms. El-Abd most recently served as Mission Director for Lebanon, where she oversaw USAID’s democracy and governance assistance, civil-military coordination with the NATO coalition, and the Mission’s management office.  From 2010-2012, she was the Deputy Mission Director and Acting Mission Director for USAID/Kosovo.

Prior to her Kosovo assignment, Ms. El-Abd served in Washington, D.C., as the Agency’s Acting Director of the Office of Central America and Mexico Affairs, where she provided strategic direction for various programs in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Panama. She also provided guidance for the Central America Regional Program as well as limited programs in the non-presence countries of Belize and Costa Rica.

From 2008 to 2009, Ms. El-Abd served as the supervisory program officer in Pakistan, providing policy and program guidance for more than $1 billion in assistance. Her other overseas tours include Uganda, Hungary, Nepal and Indonesia. She also served in Washington as Deputy Director of the Office of Middle East Affairs and as General Development Officer in the Asia and Middle East Bureaus.

Ms. El-Abd holds a Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alexandria and a Master’s Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. She speaks both Arabic and Spanish.