Daniel Swift

Daniel Swift, a retired U.S. foreign service officer and economist, is a senior research analyst for the Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). CEFP produces actionable research and policy proposals to address global economic threats, illicit finance, and supply chain vulnerabilities.

Before FDD, Daniel led Prosper Africa, a 17-agency presidential-level national security initiative to increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa. Under his leadership, Prosper Africa facilitated 720 new private sector transactions worth $60 billion, creating new economic opportunities in both Africa and the United States. He retired as an acting deputy assistant administrator.

Daniel has served as a U.S. diplomat in Washington, Jordan, Myanmar (Burma), Ethiopia, and South Africa. In these roles, he helped establish USAID’s Office of the Chief Economist, ran the U.S. government’s largest assistance program globally, helped reestablish U.S. government programs in Rangoon after a 25-year absence, and played a supporting role in the establishment of Development Innovation Ventures — USAID’s highly successful social impact fund. Daniel is the recipient of several Superior Honor Awards and Meritorious Service Awards. In 2024, he earned USAID’s Arnold Herberger Award for Applied Economic Analysis.

Before joining the Foreign Service, Daniel was an economist and a research fellow at the Logistics Management Institute. He holds two masters’ degrees from the University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.