A Conversation with Ambassador Anne Patterson, Assistant Secretary of State for Near, Eastern Affairs
Moderated by Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute
Ambassador Anne W. Patterson is one of the most distinguished diplomats in the United States. She currently serves as the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Ambassador Patterson has previously served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Deputy Permanent Representative at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Egypt (2011-2013), Pakistan (2007-2010), Colombia (2000-03), and El Salvador (1997-2000).
In 2008, Ambassador Patterson was promoted to the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest rank in the Foreign Service. She has been awarded the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award twice, in 2008 and 2010, the Ryan Crocker Award for Expeditionary Diplomacy in 2010, and was named one of Foreign Policy magazine's top 100 Global Thinkers in 2011.
A native of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Ambassador Patterson graduated from Wellesley College.