FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2008
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810 www.usaid.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Littleton "Lit" Tazewell, the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) legal adviser for Central Asian Republics, is now the mission director in Panama. The promotion took place this afternoon after Jim Kunder, USAID's acting deputy administrator, provided the oath of office during a brief ceremony.
"Lit's wealth of legal experience in emerging nations will be an asset in Panama, a nation with a history of treaties and diplomatic relationships with the United States," Jose Cardenas, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean's acting assistant administrator, said. "More than that, his insights and astute negotiating and consensus-building skills will serve him well in his new post. That's the kind of leadership that builds partnerships."
Tazewell, who has been with the Mission for Central Asia since 2005, takes charge of a mission in a nation of contrasts. Panama's skyscrapers, vibrant banking and finance markets and major ports exemplify prosperity, but problems persist. Panama continues to face challenges in eradicating corruption, managing its watersheds and reducing income inequities.
USAID invested $4 million in 2007 to build up Panama's economy and provide vital social services.
A former Peace Corp volunteer in Nepal, Tazewell has been an attorney for USAID in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama and a legal adviser for the agency's Latin America and Caribbean Bureau and African Bureau. Before joining USAID in 2000, Tazewell was a corporate lawyer and university instructor.
He earned law degrees from the College of William and Mary in Virginia in 1991 and the University of London, England, in 1992.