Anne W. Patterson
Encyclopedia
Anne Woods Patterson is an American
diplomat
and career Foreign Service Officer
. She currently serves as the United States Ambassador to Egypt
. She previously served as acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations
in 2005 and as United States Ambassador to Pakistan
from July 2007 to October 2010.
. She attended The Hockaday School
in Dallas, Texas. She received her Bachelor of Arts
degree
from Wellesley College and attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
for one year. Patterson is married to David R. Patterson, a retired Foreign Service officer. The couple have two children.
in 1973.
She served as a US State Department Economic Officer and Counselor to Saudi Arabia
from 1984 to 1988 and then as a Political Counselor at the United States Mission to the United Nations in Geneva
from 1988 to 1991.
Patterson served as State Department Director for the Andean Countries
from 1991 to 1993. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs
from 1993 to 1996.
Patterson served as United States Ambassador to El Salvador
from 1997 to 2000, and then as United States Ambassador to Colombia
from 2000 to 2003. While ambassador to Colombia
, Patterson and U.S. Senator
Paul Wellstone
were the alleged targets of a failed bomb plot while on an official visit to the Colombian town of Barrancabermeja
. From 2003 to 2004 Patterson served as Deputy Inspector General of the US State Department.
In August 2004, Patterson was appointed Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
. Patterson became acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations after John Danforth
resigned, effective January 20, 2005. An extended delay in the confirmation
of John R. Bolton
by the Senate (ending when Bolton assumed the position on August 1, 2005, after a recess appointment
) caused Patterson to served 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
George W. Bush
appointed Patterson as the United States Ambassador to Pakistan
after Ryan Crocker
left that post to become Ambassador to Iraq
. She served in Pakistan between July 2007 and October 2010.
Just two months before former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in a terror attack, Bhutto submitted a written request to Ambassador Patterson, asking Patterson for help carrying out an evaluation of the security because she feared for her life, say WikiLeaks cables. The cables also reveal that Patterson and the George W. Bush administration chose to ignore the request, suggesting instead Bhutto work constructively with General Pervez Musharraf's government -- the same organisation that she insisted was out to kill her.
Bhutto had made the request to the US Ambassador immediately after a terror strike killed more than 130 people at a rally organized by the Pakistan Peoples Party on October 18, 2007 in Karachi. The rally was organised to welcome her back to Pakistan after her eight years' exile . According to the Wikileaks cables, Bhutto told Ambassador Patterson that she did not believe that the Pakistan Government was providing the security she needed and she was in danger.
In May 2011 President Obama nominated Patterson to be the U.S.' ambassador to Egypt. On June 30, 2011, the United States Senate
confirmed Patterson by unanimous consent
to be the United States Ambassador to Egypt.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and career Foreign Service Officer
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...
. She currently serves as the United States Ambassador to Egypt
United States Ambassador to Egypt
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Egypt.The United States first established diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1848, when President James K. Polk appointed Daniel Smith McCauley as the first envoy to Egypt with the title Consul General...
. She previously served as acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is more formally known as the "Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador...
in 2005 and as United States Ambassador to Pakistan
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. Patterson was nominated as United States Ambassador to...
from July 2007 to October 2010.
Biography
Patterson was born in Fort Smith, ArkansasFort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
. She attended The Hockaday School
The Hockaday School
The Hockaday School is an independent, secular, college preparatory day and boarding school for girls located in Dallas, Texas, USA and surrounding areas...
in Dallas, Texas. She received her Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
from Wellesley College and attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
for one year. Patterson is married to David R. Patterson, a retired Foreign Service officer. The couple have two children.
Career
Patterson entered the Foreign ServiceUnited States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
in 1973.
She served as a US State Department Economic Officer and Counselor to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
from 1984 to 1988 and then as a Political Counselor at the United States Mission to the United Nations in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
from 1988 to 1991.
Patterson served as State Department Director for the Andean Countries
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
from 1991 to 1993. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The Assistant Secretary of State guides operation of the U.S...
from 1993 to 1996.
Patterson served as United States Ambassador to El Salvador
United States Ambassador to El Salvador
The following is a list of United States Ambassadors, or other Chiefs of Mission, to El Salvador. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.-Chiefs of Mission:...
from 1997 to 2000, and then as United States Ambassador to Colombia
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 Minister Plenipotentiary.- Gran Colombia:The following...
from 2000 to 2003. While ambassador to Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Patterson and U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
were the alleged targets of a failed bomb plot while on an official visit to the Colombian town of Barrancabermeja
Barrancabermeja
Barrancabermeja is a city and municipality in Santander Department, in northeastern Colombia. It is located on the banks of the Magdalena River in the Middle Magdalena region, 110 km west of Bucaramanga. Founded in 1536, Barrancabermeja is home of the biggest petroleum refinery in Colombia,...
. From 2003 to 2004 Patterson served as Deputy Inspector General of the US State Department.
In August 2004, Patterson was appointed Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. Patterson became acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations after John Danforth
John Danforth
John Claggett "Jack" Danforth is a former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and former Republican United States Senator from Missouri. He is an ordained Episcopal priest. Danforth is married to Sally D. Danforth and has five adult children.-Education and early career:Danforth was born...
resigned, effective January 20, 2005. An extended delay in the confirmation
Advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...
of John R. Bolton
John R. Bolton
John Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
by the Senate (ending when Bolton assumed the position on August 1, 2005, after a recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...
) caused Patterson to served as interim permanent representative longer than expected.
Patterson became Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is a position of the United States government within the Department of State that heads the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, which is responsible for development of policies and...
on November 28, 2005, serving until May 2007. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed Patterson as the United States Ambassador to Pakistan
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. Patterson was nominated as United States Ambassador to...
after Ryan Crocker
Ryan Crocker
Ryan Clark Crocker is a Career Ambassador within the United States Foreign Service and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He currently is the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan. He was the United States Ambassador to Iraq until 2009; he previously served as the U.S...
left that post to become Ambassador to Iraq
United States Ambassador to Iraq
This is a list of United States ambassadors, or lower-ranking heads of a diplomatic mission to Iraq.* Alexander K. Sloan - Chargé d'Affaires* Paul Knabenshue - Minister* Thomas M. Wilson - Minister* Loy W...
. She served in Pakistan between July 2007 and October 2010.
Just two months before former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in a terror attack, Bhutto submitted a written request to Ambassador Patterson, asking Patterson for help carrying out an evaluation of the security because she feared for her life, say WikiLeaks cables. The cables also reveal that Patterson and the George W. Bush administration chose to ignore the request, suggesting instead Bhutto work constructively with General Pervez Musharraf's government -- the same organisation that she insisted was out to kill her.
Bhutto had made the request to the US Ambassador immediately after a terror strike killed more than 130 people at a rally organized by the Pakistan Peoples Party on October 18, 2007 in Karachi. The rally was organised to welcome her back to Pakistan after her eight years' exile . According to the Wikileaks cables, Bhutto told Ambassador Patterson that she did not believe that the Pakistan Government was providing the security she needed and she was in danger.
In May 2011 President Obama nominated Patterson to be the U.S.' ambassador to Egypt. On June 30, 2011, the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
confirmed Patterson by unanimous consent
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, is a situation in which no one present objects to a proposal. The chair may state, for instance: "If there is no objection, the motion...
to be the United States Ambassador to Egypt.