ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump has nominated career diplomat Natalie A Baker as the next US ambassador to Pakistan, with her appointment now awaiting confirmation by the US Senate, according to a White House announcement.
“Natalie Baker, of Texas, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counsellor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” the White House said.
The US government has forwarded her nomination to the Senate for approval. Baker is currently serving as the permanent Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Islamabad. She assumed the responsibilities of Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in January 2025 and was given permanent charge last month.
Her nomination comes amid continued diplomatic engagement between Washington and Islamabad on trade, investment, security and regional issues.
Donald Blome was the last US ambassador to Pakistan before leaving the post in January 2025.
Before arriving in Islamabad, Baker served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Doha, Qatar, from August 2021 to July 2024. She previously held the position of Director of the Office of North African Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
Her earlier diplomatic assignments include serving as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the US Mission to Libya, Deputy Director of the Iran Regional Presence Office at the US Consulate in Dubai, and Economic Counsellor at the US Embassy in Kuwait.
From 2009 to 2011, Baker served as Political and Economic Counsellor in Libya during the normalisation of bilateral relations. She remained in the country until the 2011 Libyan Revolution led to the evacuation of the US Embassy.
Her other assignments included serving as Special Assistant in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Consular Officer in Islamabad and Cultural Affairs Officer in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Baker holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She graduated with distinction from the National War College at the National Defense University in 2017 and speaks Arabic, Spanish, Farsi and Russian.
