Press Releases

USAID Director Receives “Orden del Quetzal” - the Nation’s Highest Honor

USAID Guatemala Director, Glenn Anders receives Orden del Quetzal.

Guatemala, June 6, 2006

Glenn Edward Anders, Director of the United States Agency for International Development—USAID—had the “Orden del Quetzal,” the nation’s highest honor, bestowed upon him this afternoon by President Berger in appreciation of his strong commitment and interest in the wellbeing and progress of Guatemala and its people. Since 1973, the Government of Guatemala has bestowed this symbol of great honor and recognition upon officials of nations, organizations and entities that collaborate closely with Guatemala and whose civic, artistic, scientific or humanitarian characteristics merit special acknowledgement.

President Berger and Glenn Anders exchange handshake of friendship and mutual commitment to the development and advancement of a nation.

Glenn Anders is a senior officer with USAID with the rank of Minister Counselor. In late June, he will leave Guatemala to become Director of USAID in Ethiopia, Africa. Mr. Anders hails from St. Augustine, Florida, and holds an engineering degree from the University of Virginia in the U.S. and graduate degree in political economy from the University of London in the U.K.

Mr. Anders has served with USAID worldwide for over twenty-five years in positions of increasing responsibility for development and humanitarian assistance in many parts of the world: in South Asia where he served as a USAID Development Officer in both India and Sri Lanka; in East and West Africa where he served as a Regional Advisor; in the Caucasus where he served as the Regional Deputy Director; and in Central Asia where he served as the Regional Director for USAID’s Mission for Central Asia located in Kazakhstan. He became the Mission Director for Guatemala and Central American Programs in 2002 and was recently named as USAID’s Mission Director for Ethiopia.

President Berger lauds Glenn Anders and USAID's commitment to progress in Guatemala.

Prior to USAID, Mr. Anders worked with a private planning firm and with the U.N. He is accompanied by his wife, Susan Lloyd Anders, a Health Planner with graduate degrees in Public Health and in Management, who has held positions with the World Food Program and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

USAID is a federal agency of the U.S. Government that provides financial, technical and humanitarian assistance in support of development initiatives in more than 80 countries around the world. For over 40 years, USAID programs have contributed to improving the lives of people who live in conditions of vulnerability and poverty.