Bush names Anne Patterson as US Ambassador to Pakistan

Washington, May 23 (UNI) US President George W Bush has nominated a career foreign service officer Anne W Patterson, of Virginia, to be the next US Ambassador to Pakistan.

She replaces Ryan Crocker as the new US ambassador to Pakistan.

Ms Patterson is currently Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the Department of State, according to an announcement from the White House here today.

Prior to this, she served as Deputy Permanent Representative at the United States Mission to the United Nations. Ms Patterson was the Deputy Inspector General of the Department of State from 2003 to 2004. Prior to that, she was Ambassador to Colombia from 2000 to 2003. She served as United States Ambassador to Colombia. She received her bachelor's degree from Wellesley College .

Since August 2004, Ms Patterson has been Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations. She served as US acting Permanent Representative from January through July 2005 after Ambassador John Danforth's ended his tenure and prior to Ambassador Bolton's appointment as permanent representative.

Ms Patterson joined the Foreign Service in 1973 as an economic officer. She has served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Anti-American Affairs and as Office Director for the Andes. She served as political counsellor to the US Mission to the United Nations in Geneva from 1988 to 1991 and as economic officer and counsellor in Saudi Arabia from 1984 to 1988. She has held many economic and political assignments, including in the Bureau of Anti-American Affairs, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.

Ms Patterson received the State Department's superior honour award in 1981 and 1988, its Meritorious award in 1977 and 1983 and a Presidential honour award in 1993. She has also received the Order of the Congress, from the Congress of Colombia, and the Order of Boyaca, from the Government of Colombia, for her work in that country.

UNI