ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump has nominated Natalie Baker, the current charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Islamabad, to be the ambassador to Pakistan, according to a statement by the White House.
“Natalie Baker, of Texas, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” said a White House release regarding nominations and withdrawals.
The nomination has been submitted to the US Senate, and will be reviewed by the house foreign relations committee. If approved, the nomination will proceed to a vote by the Senate.
If confirmed, Ms Baker would be appointed the first full US ambassador to Pakistan since the departure of former envoy Donald Blome in Jan 2024.
According to her bio on the US embassy’s website, Ms Baker arrived in Islamabad as deputy chief of mission in August 2024. Earlier in her career, she also served as a consular officer in Islamabad.
Prior to her Pakistan posting, she was the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Doha from August 2021 to July 2024.
The Texan was also deployed as the deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires of the US Mission to Libya, deputy director of the Iran Regional Presence Office at the US consulate in Dubai and economic counsellor at the embassy in Kuwait.
According to her bio, Ms Baker holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2026
