Andrew S. Natsios (born September 22, 1949) is an American public servant and Republican politician originally from Massachusetts, who served in a number of positions in the administrations of Governor Paul Cellucci and President George W. Bush.
Then, Natsios served under George W. Bush as administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and special envoy to Sudan.
He currently teaches as executive professor at the George H.W Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and serves as director for the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs.
He was a civil affairs officer and served in the Gulf War in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait City, and on the Joint Staff of the Pentagon in 1993, where he worked on Somalia and Bosnia.
[5][6] Under Natsios, OFDA focused its attention on civil wars and famines, which research had found were responsible for more than twice the number of deaths than from natural disasters.
Natsios was one of the first people to blow the whistle on the North Korean famine, writing in a Washington Post op-ed in early 1997, "The evidence is incontestible.
Natsios articulated his approach to foreign aid in an article he wrote during his time as administrator, entitled "The Nine Principles of Reconstruction and Development."
This was crucial, given that sixty percent of the countries with USAID mission had been involved in civil wars or major conflicts in the preceding five years.
His warnings led to President Bush's use of political pressure on to Sudanese leader to try to stop the violence, as well as billions of dollars of aid being sent to Sudan.
[20]In an interview with the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs in 2003, he discussed how his thinking had changed, partly due to the impact of public pressure.
The USAID logo was put on USAID-funded projects, and a media campaign was also implemented, increasing America's approval rating in foreign countries.
[27] As special envoy, Natsios played a key role in managing relations between the United States and Sudan, including about implementing the North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and helping humanitarian aid reach those in need.
[28] In an April 2003 interview with Ted Koppel, Natsios suggested that the total cost of rebuilding Iraq would not exceed $1.7 billion to U.S.
[30] From 2006 to 2012, Natsios taught as a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy and served as an Advisor on International Development at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Natsios is a board member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and an archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Order of St. Andrew.
Andrew Natsios has authored numerous articles on foreign policy and humanitarian emergencies, as well as three books: Sudan, South Sudan, and Darfur: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2012), The Great North Korean Famine (U.S. Institute for Peace, 2001), and U.S. Foreign Policy and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1997).
He is also the co-editor, along with former White House chief of staff Andrew Card, of a book entitled Transforming Our World: President George H.W Bush and American Foreign Policy.
Natsios was also featured in the US Army War College's quarterly publication, Parameters, in 2005,[33] with his article "The Nine Principles of Reconstruction and Development".