Patrick Hanish is a member of the Senior Foreign Service with more than 25 years of experience, currently serving as State Department Senior Advisor to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Patrick most recently served as Director of the Office of Iranian Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and as Chief of Staff to the Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues.
Patrick’s most recent overseas assignment was as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at U.S. Embassy – Cairo. He also served in overseas leadership positions as Counselor for Political-Military Affairs at U.S. Embassy – Baghdad, Chief of the Political-Economic Affairs Section at U.S. Consulate General – Istanbul, and Political Chief and Deputy Principal Officer at Consulate General – Erbil.
His other previous tours include: Executive Director/Assistant Chief of Protocol, Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States; Senior Assignments Officer for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Political Officer at U.S. Embassy – Sarajevo; Special Assistant to the Secretary’s Special Envoy for Kosovo Final Status Talks; Desk Officer for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; Watch Officer in the Department of State’s Operations Center; Political Officer at Consulate General – Istanbul; and Economic/Consular Officer at Embassy – Riyadh. He has served extend temporary-duty assignments to Sana’a, Yemen and Adana, Turkey. Prior to joining the State Department, he worked for the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) in Moscow, Russia.
Patrick holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the National War College; a master’s degree in national security studies from Georgetown University, and a bachelor’s degree in international politics from Georgetown University. Patrick speaks Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish and Kurdish.
