Anne Woods Patterson (born 1949) is an American diplomat and career

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

. She served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from 2013 to 2017. She previously served as

United States Ambassador to Egypt United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

until 2013 and as

United States Ambassador to Pakistan The U.S. embassy in Karachi was established August 15, 1947 with Edward W. Holmes as Chargé d'Affaires ''ad interim'', pending the appointment of an ambassador. The first ambassador, Paul H. Alling, was appointed on September 20, 1947. Anne W. P ...

from July 2007 to October 2010.

Early life and education

Patterson was born in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

. She attended

The Hockaday School The Hockaday School is an independent, secular, college preparatory day school for girls located in Dallas, Texas, United States. The boarding school was for girls in grades 8–12 and the day school is from pre-kindergarten to grade 12. The ...

in Dallas, Texas. She received her bachelor's degree from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial ...

and attended graduate school at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

for one year.

Career

Patterson entered the

Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1973. She served as a

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

Economic Officer and Counselor to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

from 1984 to 1988 and then as a Political Counselor at the United States Mission to the United Nations in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

from 1988 to 1991. Patterson served as

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

Director for the Andean Countries from 1991 to 1993. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs from 1993 to 1996. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Pakistan

Patterson served as United States Ambassador to El Salvador from 1997 to 2000, and then as

United States Ambassador to Colombia The following is a list of ambassadors of the United States, or other chiefs of mission, to Colombia and its predecessor states. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Mi ...

from 2000 to 2003. While ambassador to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

, Patterson and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Paul Wellstone Paul David Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002) was an American academic, author, and politician who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, in 2002. A ...

were the alleged targets of a failed bomb plot while on an official visit to the Colombian town of

Barrancabermeja Barrancabermeja is a city in Colombia, located on the shore of the Magdalena River, in the western part of the department of Santander. It is home to the largest oil refinery in the country, under direct management of ECOPETROL. Barrancabermeja ...

. From 2003 to 2004 Patterson served as

Deputy Inspector General A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. India Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a ...

of the US State Department. In August 2004, Patterson was appointed Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

. Patterson became acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations after

John Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney and diplomat who began his career in 1968 as the Attorney General of Missouri and served three terms as United States Senator from Missouri. In 2004, he served br ...

resigned, effective January 20, 2005. An extended delay in the

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

John R. Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Stat ...

by the Senate (ending when Bolton assumed the position on August 1, 2005, after a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...

) caused Patterson to serve as interim permanent representative longer than expected. Patterson became Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs on November 28, 2005, serving until May 2007.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

George W. Bush appointed Patterson as the

after

Ryan Crocker Ryan Clark Crocker (born June 19, 1949) is an American retired diplomat who served as a career ambassador within the United States Foreign Service and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has served as United States Ambassador to ...

left that post to become

Ambassador to Iraq This is a list of United States ambassadors, or lower-ranking heads of a diplomatic mission to Iraq. * Alexander K. Sloan (1931) – ''Chargé d'Affaires'' * Paul Knabenshue (1932–1942) – ''Minister'' * Thomas M. Wilson (1942) – ''Minister' ...

. She served in Pakistan between July 2007 and October 2010. In May 2011 U.S. President Obama nominated Patterson to be the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt. On June 30, 2011, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

confirmed Patterson by

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...

to be the United States Ambassador to Egypt. During the protests that ousted Egyptian president

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( '), is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic studies, Islamic scholar and scho ...

. On August 1, 2013, Patterson was nominated to serve as the assistant secretary of state in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which oversees the Middle East. The U.S. Senate confirmed Robert S. Beecroft to succeed her as ambassador to Egypt on June 26, 2014. Patterson was considered for Defense Undersecretary for Policy under James Mattis; however, she was withdrawn after opposition from

Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician, attorney, and former military officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator for Arkansas since 2015. A memb ...

, senator from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. Speculation was that Cotton favors a harshly anti-

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( '), is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic studies, Islamic scholar and scho ...

policy and Patterson's time as Ambassador to Egypt under President Morsi disqualified her in his eyes. Patterson currently serves on the commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States and as the Kissinger Senior Fellow at the

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Patterson served a stint as President of the US-Qatar Business Council.

Personal life

Patterson is married to David R. Patterson, a retired Foreign Service officer. The couple have two children.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Anne W. 1949 births Ambassadors of the United States to Colombia Ambassadors of the United States to Egypt Ambassadors of the United States to El Salvador Ambassadors of the United States to Pakistan American women ambassadors Assistant Secretaries of State for the Near East and North Africa Living people People from Fort Smith, Arkansas Permanent Representatives of the United States to the United Nations United States Assistant Secretaries of State United States Career Ambassadors University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Wellesley College alumni Hockaday School alumni United States Foreign Service personnel