Natalie A. Baker arrived at Embassy Doha as Deputy Chief of Mission in August 2021. She most recently served as Director of the Office of North African Affairs in the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau. Prior to this assignment, she served as Deputy Chief of the U.S. Mission to Libya.

Natalie has previously served as a Middle East analyst in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, as Deputy Director of the Iran Regional Presence Office at the U.S. Consulate in Dubai, and as Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. In Kuwait, Natalie worked with the Department of Defense to support the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. From 2009-2011, Natalie served as Political and Economic Counselor in Libya, as the bilateral relationship was normalizing after a nearly 30-year pause. She remained in Libya until the Libyan Revolution forced the U.S. Embassy to evacuate in February 2011.

Natalie’s other assignments include Special Assistant in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Consular Officer in Islamabad, and Cultural Officer in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Natalie holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Princeton University and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is a 2017 Distinguished Graduate of the National War College, National DefenseUniversity.