Robert E. Patterson, a career foreign service officer, was confirmed unanimously by the US Senate yesterday as US ambassador to Turkmenistan, the Congressional Record reported.
Patterson was confirmed in an executive session without debate where a number of other ambassadors and officers in the armed services were also confirmed.
Last week, he testified at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
A seasoned diplomat who speaks Russian and has served in posts in Russia in the past, Patterson was last stationed in Kenya working as counselor for Somalia.
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