Patrick Dennis Duddy is an American diplomat, formerly

United States Ambassador to Venezuela The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to Venezuela. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.'' The a ...

. He served from August 6, 2007 to September 11, 2008, during the Bush Administration, was expelled by Venezuelan President

Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

, and eight months later was returned as Ambassador by the

Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

. He replaced

William Brownfield William Rivington Brownfield (born 1952) is a Career Ambassador in the United States Foreign Service and the former Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs as of January 10, 2011. He has p ...

, who also was the subject of repeated threats of expulsion from Chavez before leaving to become ambassador to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. Duddy served for just over a year before being expelled by Chavez, who claimed to have uncovered an American-led plot to overthrow him. The action took place after, and partially as a result of, a dispute between the United States and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

n president

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to co ...

; Chavez expressed support for Morales. The embassy was run by John Caulfield as

Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

in the interim. In March 2008 Duddy had requested funding from the US government "to influence the information environment within Venezuela". He returned in July 2009 when the Obama Administration restored diplomatic relations with Venezuela. He finished his assignment in July 2010. President Obama nominated Larry Palmer as his replacement. However the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

did not confirm him and Hugo Chavez refused to accept him as ambassador, leaving the position vacant. Duddy currently serves as a diplomat in residence at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

's Center for International Studies. Duddy attended undergraduate at Colby College, graduating in 1972.

References

External links

Biography from the United States Department of State
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duddy, Patrick Ambassadors of the United States to Venezuela People from Bangor, Maine Colby College alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Northeastern University alumni