Biography

Photo of Ambassador Patricia M. Haslach
Ambassador Patricia M. Haslach
Senior Official
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Term of Appointment: 06/11/2007 to present

Patricia M. Haslach, a Career Minister of the Senior Foreign Service, who began her diplomatic career in 1986, was appointed U.S. Senior Official for APEC, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, in June 2007. On April 29, 2008, she was confirmed as the U.S. Ambassador to APEC.

Prior to her current position, she served as U.S. Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic from May 2004 to May 2007.

Ms. Haslach previously served as the Director, Office for Afghanistan, responsible for overseeing a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction program for Afghanistan. Prior to this, she served as the Economic Counselor in Islamabad, Pakistan. Her other foreign assignments have included service as the Agricultural Attaché in New Delhi, India, Political Officer in the US Mission to the European Union, and Resource Officer in Lagos, Nigeria, and Jakarta, Indonesia. In 1997 Ms. Haslach received the Sinclaire Award for the study of a hard language. In 1999 she was selected as the winner of the Herbert Salzman Award for Excellence in International Economic Performance, and in 2002 she was awarded the Director General’s Award for Impact and Originality in Reporting.

A native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Ms. Haslach earned her BA in Political Science from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, and a Master in International Affairs and Certificate on Western Europe from Columbia University, New York. Her languages are French, Italian and Indonesian.

Ms. Haslach has a keen interest in education, and she has actively served on the boards of the American schools in Lagos, Jakarta and Islamabad.