If confirmed by US Senate, Natalie will become first US envoy to Pakistan since Donald Blome left post in early 2025
US Acting Ambassador to Pakistan, Natalie Baker. Photo: (file)
US President Donald Trump nominated chargé d’affaires Natalie A Baker as the next US ambassador to Pakistan, paving the way for the appointment of a permanent envoy to Islamabad after a gap of nearly two years, it emerged on Tuesday.
The White House announced the nomination in a list of appointments sent to the US Senate on Monday. Natalie, described as a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, was nominated to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the US Senate. If confirmed, Natalie will become the first US ambassador to Pakistan since Donald Blome left the post in early 2025.
Natalie has been leading the US Mission in Pakistan as chargé d’affaires since January 2025, following Blome’s departure after President Trump returned to office. She joined the US Embassy in Islamabad as Deputy Chief of Mission in August 2024, having previously served in the same capacity at the US Embassy in Doha, Qatar.
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During her diplomatic career, Natalie also served as director of the Office of North African Affairs at the US Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, deputy chief 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. She had also previously served as a consular officer in Islamabad.
Natalie holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University. She is also a graduate of the National War College at the National Defence University, US.
Blome, the last US ambassador to Pakistan, assumed charge in May 2022 after being approved by the US Senate in March that year. His appointment ended a gap of nearly four years in which the US did not have a full-time ambassador in Islamabad. He was the first permanent US envoy to Pakistan since David Hale completed his tenure in August 2018.
