Trump nominates Natalie Baker as US ambassador to Pakistan

US President Donald Trump has nominated Natalie Baker, the current Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Islamabad, as the next US ambassador to Pakistan, with her appointment subject to Senate approval.

According to a White House statement, Baker’s nomination has been sent to the US Senate, where it will be reviewed by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

If approved by the committee, the nomination will be presented to the full Senate for a vote. Baker will formally assume the position if confirmed by the Senate.

According to the US Embassy’s website, Baker was posted to Islamabad in August 2024 as Deputy Chief of Mission.

Before her assignment in Pakistan, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Doha, Qatar, from August 2021 to July 2024.

Baker has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the US mission in Libya. Her other assignments include Deputy Director of the Iran Regional Presence Office at the US Consulate in Dubai and Economic Counsellor at the US Embassy in Kuwait.

She also served as Director of the Office of North African Affairs within the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

According to the embassy’s website, Baker served as an adviser for political and economic affairs in Libya from 2009 to 2011, during efforts to normalise relations between Libya and the United States after a hiatus of approximately 30 years.

She was in Libya in February 2011 when the US Embassy was forced to evacuate its staff and vacate its premises following the revolution.

Baker assumed the role of Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Islamabad in January 2025, following the departure of then-US Ambassador Donald Armin Blome.