Swati Dandekar to represent US on Asian Development Bank board

US President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American politician Swati Dandekar to the post of executive director at the Asian Development Bank.

Dandekar, a former Iowa state legislator and member of the Iowa Utilities Board, will serve as one of 12 international directors and hold the title of ambassador.

Dandekar, 64, the first-ever Indian-American to be elected to Iowa House of Representatives in 2003, would replace Robert M Orr, who has held the position since 2010.

Dandekar was also the first Indian-born American citizen to win a state legislature seat in the United States.

Obama announced his intent to nominate Dandekar to this top US position in Asian Development Bank (ADB) along with other key administration appointments and nominations.

"I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America, and I am grateful for their service. I look forward to working with them," Obama said.

A member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009, Dandekar was also member of the Iowa Senate from 2009 to 2011.

Thereafter, she served on the Iowa Utilities Board from 2011 to 2013. From 2000 to 2003, she was a member of the Vision Iowa Board of Directors.

Dandekar, who with her husband Arvind migrated to the US in 1973, also served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Education from 1996 to 2002 and was a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 2000 to 2002.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Nagpur University and a Post-Graduate Diploma from Bombay University.

Dandekar ran for the US House of Representatives from Iowa's first Congressional District, but lost in the primaries.

The Asian Development Bank is an international organization that provides loans, grants, policy aid, technical assistance and equity investments to countries in Asia and the Pacific.