Hugh Parmer

Humanitarian career In 1998, Parmer was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the assistant administrator of the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in charge of the Bureau of Humanitarian Response. Parmer was unanimously confirmed by the Republican controlled U. S. Senate. During his tenure at USAID, Parmer was largely responsible for U.S. humanitarian operations during the Kosovo War. After the election of President George W. Bush in 2000, Parmer was selected as president of the American Refugee Committee, an international humanitarian relief organization with programs in 14 conflict impacted countries around the world. In 2008, he was elected to the board of directors of Interaction, the largest association of U.S. based private relief and development organizations.

Recent activities Before his death, Parmer was an adjunct professor at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. He taught senior undergraduate and graduate seminars in International Aid, Humanitarian Intervention and Refugee Affairs.

Parmer died in Fort Worth on May 27, 2020.