Anne Woods Patterson (born 1949) is an American diplomat and careerForeign Service Officer. She served as theAssistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from 2013 to 2017. She previously served asUnited States Ambassador to Egypt until 2013 and asUnited States Ambassador to Pakistan from July 2007 to October 2010.[1]
Patterson was born inFort Smith, Arkansas. She attendedThe Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. She received her bachelor's degree fromWellesley College and attended graduate school at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for one year.[citation needed]
Patterson entered theForeign Service in 1973. She served as aU.S. State Department Economic Officer and Counselor toSaudi Arabia from 1984 to 1988 and then as a Political Counselor at the United States Mission to the United Nations inGeneva from 1988 to 1991.[2]
Patterson served asState Department Director for theAndean Countries from 1991 to 1993. She served asDeputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs from 1993 to 1996.[2]
Patterson served asUnited States Ambassador to El Salvador from 1997 to 2000, and then asUnited States Ambassador to Colombia from 2000 to 2003.[2] While ambassador toColombia, Patterson andU.S. SenatorPaul Wellstone were the alleged targets of a failed bomb plot while on an official visit to the Colombian town ofBarrancabermeja.[3] From 2003 to 2004, she served asDeputy Inspector General of the US State Department.[2]
In August 2004, Patterson was appointed Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to theUnited Nations. Patterson became acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations afterJohn Danforth resigned, effective January 20, 2005. An extended delay in theconfirmation ofJohn R. Bolton by the Senate (ending when Bolton assumed the position on August 1, 2005, after arecess appointment) caused Patterson to serve as interim permanent representative longer than expected.[4]
Patterson becameAssistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs on November 28, 2005, serving until May 2007.PresidentGeorge W. Bush appointed Patterson as theUnited States Ambassador to Pakistan afterRyan Crocker left that post to becomeAmbassador to Iraq. She served in Pakistan between July 2007 and October 2010.[5]
In May 2011, U.S. President Obama nominated Patterson to be the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt.[6] On June 30, 2011, theUnited States Senate confirmed Patterson byunanimous consent to be the United States Ambassador to Egypt.[7]
During the protests that ousted Egyptian presidentMohamed Morsi from power on July 3, 2013, Patterson was singled out specially by the protesters for being too close to Morsi and theMuslim Brotherhood.[8]
On August 1, 2013, Patterson was nominated to serve as the assistant secretary of state in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which oversees the Middle East. The U.S. Senate confirmedRobert S. Beecroft to succeed her as ambassador to Egypt on June 26, 2014.[citation needed]
Patterson was considered for Defense Undersecretary for Policy underJames Mattis; however, she was withdrawn after opposition fromTom Cotton, senator fromArkansas.[9] Some speculated that Cotton favored an anti-Muslim Brotherhood policy and that Patterson's time as Ambassador to Egypt under President Morsi disqualified her in his eyes.[10]
Patterson served on the commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States[11] and as the Kissinger Senior Fellow at theYale UniversityJackson Institute for Global Affairs.[12]
Patterson is married to David R. Patterson, a retired Foreign Service officer. The couple have two children.[2]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alan H. Flanigan | United States Ambassador to El Salvador 1997–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Colombia 2000–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the United Nations Acting 2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Pakistan 2007–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Egypt 2011–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs 2005–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs 2013–2017 | Succeeded by |
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