Ambassador Mark Green (ret.) is a frequent writer, speaker, and consultant on matters of American global leadership and international development. Most recently, he served as President of the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and as a fellow with Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service. His weekly essays “Stubborn Things” can be found on his Substack and elsewhere.
In the first Trump Administration, Green was the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development, where he led the agency in crafting an approach to development he described as the “journey to self-reliance” and a new emphasis on private sector engagement. He has served as President of the International Republican Institute, as well as the US Ambassador to Tanzania. He has also served as Executive Director of the McCain Institute, President of the Initiative for Global Development, and Senior Director at the US Global Leadership Coalition.
During his four terms in Congress (WI-8), among other things, he played a leading role in crafting legislation establishing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
Green has also served on the MCC’s Board of Directors during both the Obama and Trump Administrations, on the Bush Institute’s Human Freedom Advisory Council, and on the Board of Consensus for Development Reform. He holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. He has received special honors from President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and President Ivan Duque of Colombia, as well as an honorary Doctor of Science from Georgetown University.
Green began his work in foreign policy and international development as a teacher in a small Kenyan village.