Since presenting his Letters of Credence to the Honorable President of Bangladesh on November 24, 2011, Ambassador Dan Mozena has endeavored to strengthen, deepen and broaden relations between the United States and Bangladesh. He has worked to advance the interests of the people of America, Bangladesh and the region by promoting a Bangladesh that is peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy and democratic. He and his staff are forging strong partnerships with the Bangladesh government and civil society to bolster Bangladeshi food security and nutrition, improve health, and increase capacity to cope with climate change, natural disasters and other security challenges. To take America to the people and to better understand the diversity of Bangladesh, Mozena has undertaken to visit all of the country’s 64 districts.
Ambassador Mozena had previously served in Bangladesh as Political/Economic Counselor from 1998 – 2001. A member of Senior Foreign Service, Mozena was U.S. ambassador to Angola from 2007 – 2010. His other previous postings include New Delhi, Islamabad, Lusaka and Kinshasa. Immediately before his return to Bangladesh, Mozena was a professor at the National War College for a year.
Ambassador Mozena was born and raised on a family dairy farm in northeast Iowa and spent the first couple of decades of his life milking cows, slopping hogs, and doing the daily chores that are part of life on a family farm. His academic life began in a one-room country school, which had a total of 12 students spread over eight grades. He graduated from Iowa State University (Political Science and History), and later from graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (Public Administration and Political Science). He lived in Nepal in 1970-1971 as part of a cultural exchange.
Ambassador Mozena's wife of 40 years, Grace, is a retired elementary school teacher. Both Mozenas served as Peace Corps volunteers in then-Zaire, where they helped local farmers develop better ways to raise chickens.
