Trump picks career diplomat Natalie Baker for Pakistan ambassador post

US President Donald Trump has nominated career diplomat Natalie A Baker as the next US ambassador to Pakistan, with her appointment subject to confirmation by the Senate, according to a White House announcement.

In a statement, the White House said Baker, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counsellor, had been nominated as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The US government has sent her nomination to the Senate for consideration.

Baker is currently serving as the permanent Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Islamabad. She assumed the duties of Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in January 2025 before being given permanent charge last month.

Her nomination comes amid ongoing 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 worked as Director of the Office of North African Affairs in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

Her diplomatic assignments have also included 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 diplomatic relations between the two countries. She remained there until the 2011 Libyan Revolution led to the evacuation of the US embassy.

Her earlier assignments included serving as a Special Assistant in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, a Consular Officer in Islamabad and a 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.