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May 14, 2009

Microfinance Leader Nominated To State Department Position

President Obama has nominated María Otero, chief executive of Accion International, a microfinance group, to be the under secretary of global affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

The appointment requires Senate approval, which is expected in a few weeks, and comes as the State Department says it is seeking greater partnerships with international nonprofit groups.

According to Accion’s Web site, the group’s chief deputy, Catherine Quense, will serve as the interim head as a search committee looks for Ms. Otero’s successor.

Ms. Otero joined Accion in 1986 to lead its lending program in Honduras. Three years later she helped open the group’s Washington office, and in 2000 she was appointed chief executive.

As under secretary, Ms. Otero would be part of an office that oversees a variety of international issue.

According to the State Department’s Web site: “The Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs coordinates U.S. foreign relations on a variety of global issues, including democracy, human rights, and labor; environment, oceans, health. and science; population, refugees, and migration; women’s issues; and trafficking in persons and avian and pandemic influenza.”

— Ian Wilhelm

Thursday May 14, 2009 | Permalink

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