Craig Hart was sworn in as the USAID Mission Director for Tanzania in July 2023. Having served as USAID Program Officer in Tanzania from 2011 to 2015, he now returns to help reinforce and build upon the United States’ 60-year relationship with one of Africa's fastest growing economies.
Craig rejoins the Tanzania team after having spent the last four years as the USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for East Asia and the Pacific, where he helped re-establish the USAID Pacific Islands Mission, frequently testified before Congress on advancing Indo-Pacific Strategy priorities, and served as Acting Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia for several months.
A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Craig began his career with USAID in 2005 and has since represented the Agency around the world. He served as the USAID Deputy Mission Director in Vietnam from 2016 to 2020, where he expanded USAID collaboration with the private sector, and as a USAID Program Officer in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011. Before Afghanistan, Craig served in the Republic of Georgia where, during the Russian conflict in 2008, he played a crucial role in leading USAID’s humanitarian assistance efforts providing aid to internally displaced people in need.
Prior to joining USAID, Craig spent a decade with the U.S. Peace Corps, holding various roles, including Country Director in Armenia, Deputy Country Director in Russia, and Volunteer in the Russian Far East. Craig hails from Kentucky, he was Seminar XXI Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and holds bachelor's and dual master's degrees from the University of Kentucky, the University of Vermont, and the National War College.