This biography is no longer current; at present, no other official Department of State biographical information is available.
William J. Garvelink was nominated as Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo by President Bush on May 30, 2007 and confirmed by the Senate on June 28 and sworn in on October 22, 2007. He arrived at post on November 22, 2007.
Mr. Garvelink was appointed to his last position in May 2001. His 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 (OFDA), Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), Office of Food for Peace (FFP), Office of Democracy and Governance, Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation (CMM) and the Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation (PVC). Mr. Garvelink is a member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor.
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Garvelink served since 1999 as the USAID Mission Director in Eritrea. He administered a development and relief program valued at more than $55 million.
From 1988 to 1999 Mr. Garvelink served in OFDA first as the Assistant Director for Response and then as the Deputy Director. While in OFDA, he conducted assessments and directed relief operations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Near East, Europe and in the former Soviet Union. Mr. Garvelink led Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) to Albania, Armenia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, northern Iraq, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and most recently Bam, Iran. He chaired the USAID Task Force for the Indian Ocean Tsunami, the USAID Task Force for the Pakistan Earthquake and the USAID Lebanon Task Force.
Prior to his work in OFDA, Mr. Garvelink served for two years in the Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) with responsibilities for southern Africa. He was posted for four years in Bolivia for USAID and served for three years as a staff member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr. Garvelink holds degrees from Calvin College (BA) and the University of Minnesota (MA).
