William Garvelink
Encyclopedia
William John Garvelink is an American diplomat and former United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
by George W. Bush
on May 30, 2007 and sworn in on October 22, 2007.
and graduated from Calvin College
(B.A.) in 1971 and the University of Minnesota
(M.A.); along with post-graduate studies at the University of North Carolina
in Latin American history, but ran out of money before earning his Ph.D. Garvelink joined the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1979.
Before he joined AID, Garvelink was a professional staff member of the Subcommittee on International Organizations and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives. Garvelink's responsibilities included oversight of USAID’s worldwide humanitarian assistance and democracy programs. Offices within the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance include the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, Office of Transition Initiatives, Office of Food for Peace, Office of Democracy and Governance, Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation and the Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation. He is a Minister Counselor of the Senior Foreign Service.
Prior to his appointment as ambassador, Garvelink served since 1999 as the USAID Mission Director in Eritrea
. He administered a development and relief program worth more than $55 million US dollars.
Garvelink has received six Performance Awards, two Meritorious Honor Awards, a Superior Honor Award, and a Senior Foreign Service Presidential Meritorious Service Award over his service with the U.S. Department of State.
In 1988 until 1999 Garvelink served in Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), first as the Assistant Director for Response and then as the Deputy Director. While in OFDA, he directed relief operations in Africa
, Asia
, Latin America
, the Near East
, Europe
and in the former Soviet Union
. Garvelink led many Disaster Assistance Response Teams, or DARTs, to parts of Albania
, Armenia
, Democratic Republic of the Congo
, Haiti
, Iraq
, Kenya
, Rwanda
, Somalia
and Iran
. He chaired the USAID Task Force for the 2006 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the Task Force for the Pakistani Earthquake and the Lebanese Task Force.
Prior to his work in the OFDA, Garvelink served for two years in the Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration with responsibilities for much of southern Africa. He was appointed for four years in Bolivia
for USAID and served for three years as a staff member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Garvelink is married to Linda A. Garvelink, whom he met in high school, and is a banking industry specialist.
* edited by Jim Whitman and David Pocock, St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1996
* in Meeting the Challenge of International Peace Operations: Assessing the Contribution of Technology, edited by Alex Gliksman (proceedings of a conference sponsored by the Center for Global Security Research, June 1998 and held in Livermore, California September 9–10, 1996)
* in The Liaison (Journal of Civil-Military Humanitarian Relief Collaboration), Volume 3, Number 2, 2004
United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.From 1877 until 1960, the republic had been a colony of Belgium, first under the name Congo Free State and then Belgian Congo....
by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on May 30, 2007 and sworn in on October 22, 2007.
Biography
Garvelink was born in Holland, MichiganHolland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
and graduated from Calvin College
Calvin College
Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin College is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism...
(B.A.) in 1971 and the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
(M.A.); along with post-graduate studies at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
in Latin American history, but ran out of money before earning his Ph.D. Garvelink joined the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1979.
Before he joined AID, Garvelink was a professional staff member of the Subcommittee on International Organizations and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives. Garvelink's responsibilities included oversight of USAID’s worldwide humanitarian assistance and democracy programs. Offices within the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance include the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, Office of Transition Initiatives, Office of Food for Peace, Office of Democracy and Governance, Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation and the Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation. He is a Minister Counselor of the Senior Foreign Service.
Prior to his appointment as ambassador, Garvelink served since 1999 as the USAID Mission Director in Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
. He administered a development and relief program worth more than $55 million US dollars.
Garvelink has received six Performance Awards, two Meritorious Honor Awards, a Superior Honor Award, and a Senior Foreign Service Presidential Meritorious Service Award over his service with the U.S. Department of State.
In 1988 until 1999 Garvelink served in Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), first as the Assistant Director for Response and then as the Deputy Director. While in OFDA, he directed relief operations in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and in the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Garvelink led many Disaster Assistance Response Teams, or DARTs, to parts of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. He chaired the USAID Task Force for the 2006 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the Task Force for the Pakistani Earthquake and the Lebanese Task Force.
Prior to his work in the OFDA, Garvelink served for two years in the Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration with responsibilities for much of southern Africa. He was appointed for four years in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
for USAID and served for three years as a staff member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Garvelink is married to Linda A. Garvelink, whom he met in high school, and is a banking industry specialist.
Published works
Garvelink has written many published works, including:- Humanitarian Assistance Intervention in Complex Emergencies: Information Requirements in the 1990s*
- Complex Emergencies in Africa in the 1990s: The Role of Technology*
- Special Report: United States Response to the Earthquake in Bam, Iran*