Haslach, Patricia Marie, 1956-

<p>Patricia Marie Haslach (born 1956) is an American diplomat. She served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, from September 2016 to September 2017. She previously served as the United States Ambassador to Ethiopia from August 4, 2013 through September 2016.</p>

<p>A native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Haslach earned her BA from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington and her Master in International Affairs from the European Institute at Columbia University.</p>

<p>Haslach began her career with the federal government at the United States Department of Agriculture and was assigned to India as the regional Agricultural Attaché from 1987 to 1990. She followed that assignment with a United States Department of State posting to the United States Mission to the European Union, managing assistance to Group of 24.</p>

<p>Haslach previously served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. Prior to this, Haslach was the State Department’s Coordinator for Iraq Transition in the Office of the Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources. In this position, she was responsible for coordinating all Washington-based State Department aspects of the U.S. transition from military to civilian operations culminating with the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops at the end of December 2011.</p>

<p>Haslach served as the Deputy Coordinator for Diplomacy for the Feed the Future Initiative from June 2010 to March 2011 and as Assistant Chief of Mission for Assistance Transition at the Embassy of the United States, Baghdad from July 2009 to June 2010, where she was responsible for overseeing the transfer, transformation, and completion of development and assistance programs. As Director for the Office for Afghanistan from 2002 to 2004, Haslach oversaw a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction program. From 2007 to 2009, she was Ambassador to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and from 2004 to 2007, she was U.S. Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. She has also served as Economic Counselor in Pakistan and Deputy Economic Counselor in Indonesia and Nigeria.</p>

<p>Haslach has received numerous awards during her career, including a Superior Honor Award for Afghanistan reconstruction in 2004, The Director General’s Award for Impact and Originality in Reporting in 2002, The Herbert Salzman Award for Excellence in International Economic Performance in 2002, and the Sinclaire Language Award for distinguished study of a hard language and its associated culture in 1998.</p>

<p>Haslach is married to Jonathan Wilks, a British diplomat who has served as the British Ambassador to Iraq, Oman, and Yemen. They have two daughters.</p>

<p>The next ambassador to the northeast African nation of Ethiopia, which was the only African nation to successfully maintain its independence during the Age of Empire, will be Patricia Haslach. If confirmed by the Senate, Haslach would succeed Donald Booth, who served in Addis Ababa from 2009 to 2012. In her most recent position, Haslach served as principal deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s newest bureau, the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, starting January 24, 2013.</p>

<p>Born in Rockville Center, New York, in 1956, Haslach moved with her family to Lake Oswego, Oregon in 1971. Her father, Frank Haslach, was an asset and recovery manager for Evans Products and Oregon Bank. She graduated St. Mary’s Academy in 1974, earned her B.A. in Political Science at Gonzaga University in 1978, and her M.A. in International Affairs at Columbia University in 1981.</p>

<p>Haslach began her career with the federal government in 1986 as an agricultural attaché with the Foreign Agricultural Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, assigned to India from 1987 to 1990. Transferring to the State Department as an economic officer, she was posted to the U.S. Mission to the European Union managing assistance to the Group of 24 countries. In the years following, Haslach served as resource officer at the embassies in Jakarta, Indonesia, and in Lagos, Nigeria. From 2000 to May 2002, she served as economic counselor at the embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, while her husband, David Herbert was the embassy’s general services officer. As Pakistan became part of the front line in President George W. Bush’s war against Islamic terrorism, Haslach gave up her post to move her two daughters back to the United States.</p>

<p>In her next stateside post as director of the Office of Afghanistan Reconstruction from 2002-2004, Haslach oversaw the multi-billion-dollar reconstruction program intended to fix some of the damage caused by war. Haslach then served two straight stints as an ambassador, first as ambassador to Laos from 2004 to 2007, and then as ambassador to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, headquartered in Singapore, from 2007 to 2009.</p>

<p>She served as assistant chief of mission for assistance transition at the embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, from July 2009 to June 2010, and as deputy coordinator for diplomacy for the U.S. Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative from June 2010 to March 2011. From then until late 2012, Haslach was the State Department’s coordinator for Iraq transition in the Office of the Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources.</p>

<p>Patricia Haslach has two adult daughters, Shereen and Kiran Herbert.</p>