Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The newly appointed US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dan W Mozena, will arrive in the capital Dhaka on Saturday.
Ambassador Mozena was nominated by the President Barrack Obama on May 13, 2011 and confirmed by the United States Senate on October 18, 2011.
“Ambassador Mozena was sworn in by the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns on November 7,” a US embassy announcement said in Dhaka on Thursday.
Ambassador Mozena previously served in Bangladesh as Political Counselor from 1998 to 2001.
The ambassador has served with the U.S. State Department in Islamabad, Kinshasa, Lusaka and New Delhi. A member of the Senior Foreign Service, Dan Mozena was the U.S. Ambassador to Angola from 2008 to 2010.
Ambassador Mozena was the Director for the Office of Southern African Affairs from 2004 to 2007, when, among other responsibilities, he provided leadership to the U.S. bilateral relationship with Angola.
As Director, Mozena established as his highest priorities developing and supporting U.S. policies to help southern Africa fight and win the war against HIV/AIDS, strengthen democracy and improve governance, enhance regional stability, and promote economic growth to reduce poverty.
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).
Ambassador Mozena’s wife of 40 years, Grace, is a retired elementary school teacher with professional interests spanning from elementary education to health service delivery, particularly malaria treatment and prevention.
Both Mozenas served as Peace Corps volunteers in then-Zaire, where they helped local farmers develop better ways to raise chickens. The Mozenas are proud parents of two adult children, Anne and Mark, who have finished their university studies and reside in the United States.
BNN/SSR/AD17Nov11-8:45 pm (BST)
