US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack has named Daniel Whitley the new administrator of the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
Whitley has served as the agency’s acting administrator since December 2020, prior to that, he served in various positions during a 20-year career with the agency.
Most recently,Whitley was responsible for leading the FAS trade policy and market analysis teams as associate administrator. Throughout his FAS career, Whitley held leadership positions including deputy administrator of the office of global analysis and director of the office of civil rights.
Whitley joined FAS after starting his career with USDA’s Economic Research Service, focusing on market access issues in the World Trade Organisation.
“I am deeply humbled by this opportunity, but I think it is more a reflection of all your hard work during my time as acting administrator than any personal achievements,” Whitley said in a message to FAS staff.
“I know that together, we will continue to meet future challenges from bringing staff back to the physical workplace and navigating the latest trade landscape to finding new ways to support farmers and ranchers and delivering on administration priorities.”
