President-elect Joe
Biden on Wednesday named former ambassador Samantha Power to lead US foreign
aid. If confirmed as administrator of the US Agency for International
Development (USAID), Power would sit on the National Security Council along
with John Kerry, the former secretary of state tapped as climate envoy, AFP
reported.

In a statement on
Wednesday, Biden said, “Samantha Power is a world-renowned voice of
conscience and moral clarity — challenging and rallying the international
community to stand up for the dignity and humanity of all people.”

“As USAID
administrator, Ambassador Power will be a powerful force for lifting up the
vulnerable, ushering in a new era of human progress and development and advancing
American interests globally,” he added.

Also Read: Where will President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration be held?

Power, who is a
forceful advocate of humanitarian diplomacy, was born in Ireland and won the
Pulitzer Prize for her 2002 book “A Problem from Hell” in which she
critiques the US reluctance to label and prevent genocide around the world. She
was an early supporter of Barack Obama. In his second term as president, Obama
made her US ambassador to the United Nations.

Power would succeed
acting USAID chief John Barsa, a Trump advisor who has raised controversy for
installing outspoken conservatives and demanding the United Nations remove
references to “reproductive health.”