President Obama nominated Ambassador Connelly, a 25-year veteran of the Foreign Service, as the U.S.

[1] Ambassador Connelly was confirmed by the Senate in August 2010 and sworn in by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in September 2010.

Maura Connelly is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and most recently served in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs as Deputy Assistant Secretary responsible for the Levant and Egypt.

From 2003 to 2005, Ambassador Connelly was the Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, where she also served from 1993 to 1996 as Political Section Chief.

She has also served as the Deputy Counselor for Political Affairs for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York.