Patricia Alice Mahoney is an American diplomat serving as the

United States Ambassador to the Central African Republic The United States Ambassador to the Central African Republic is the ambassador of the United States to the Central African Republic. Alan W. Lukens (resident at Brazzaville) presented credentials as ''chargé d'affaires ad interim'' on August ...

. She previously served as the

United States Ambassador to Benin The Kingdom of Dahomey was an overseas possession of France—part of French West Africa—until 1958. In that year Dahomey became an autonomous republic, and gained full independence in 1960. The United States immediately recognized Dahomey and ...

Early life and education

Mahoney earned her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree, ''cum laude'', from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1981. In 1988, she earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

. Mahoney attended the National War College from 2008 to 2009, becoming a Distinguished Graduate as she received her

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in 2009.

Career

Mahoney's career in the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

has included both domestic and international assignments. From 2001 to 2004, she served as political and economic chief at the U.S. Embassy in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, before becoming political chief at the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where she remained until 2006. Mahoney then served as director for South Asia for the

United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Execu ...

from 2006 to 2008. Following her graduation from the National War College, she became deputy director in the Office of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Affairs in the

Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) is an agency within the United States Department of State that is responsible for the U.S. government's relations with countries in the South and Central Asian region. The bureau is headed by t ...

until 2010, when she became deputy chief of mission at the American Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, where she served for three years. From 2013 to 2016, Mahoney was deputy chief of mission of the American Embassy in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. She then became the director of the Office of Mainland Southeast Asia from 2016 to 2018.

Ambassador to Benin

In 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

nominated Mahoney to become United States Ambassador to

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. The Senate approved her nomination on January 2, 2019. She was sworn into office January 18, 2019. Mahoney presented her credentials in Benin on July 4, 2019.

Ambassador to Central African Republic

On July 27, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Mahoney to be the

. Her nomination was sent to the Senate the following day. Hearings on her nomination were held before the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pro ...

on October 20, 2021. The committee reported her favorably on November 3, 2021. On December 18, 2021, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

confirmed her nomination by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. She presented her credentials to

President of the Central African Republic President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Faustin-Archange Touadéra Faustin-Archange Touadéra (; born 21 April 1957) is a Central African politician and academic who has been President of the Central African Republic since March 2016. He previously was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from Janua ...

on April 8, 2022.

Personal

Mahoney has three adult children. She speaks French,

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

, Nepali, and Lao.

References

External links

2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahoney, Patricia Living people 21st-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Benin Ambassadors of the United States to the Central African Republic American women ambassadors Harvard College alumni National War College alumni Trump administration personnel United States Foreign Service personnel University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni American women diplomats 1959 births