In 2009, President Obama nominated Verveer to be the first United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues at the United States Department of State. She was confirmed by the Senate in April 2009. She served as Ambassador from 2009-2013, working closely with Hillary Clinton to coordinate foreign policy issues and activities relating to the political, economic and social advancement of women and girls, traveling to nearly 60 countries, including Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She worked to fully integrate women's participation and rights into U.S. foreign policy and to mobilize concrete support for women's political and economic empowerment through public–private partnership, participation in bilateral strategic dialogues, the agendas of multilateral organizations and policy initiatives. During Clinton's tenure, women's issues were recognized as integral to foreign policy and a number of new policies were adopted, including Secretarial Policy Guidance on Gender Equality and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Their work recognized the role of women's economic participation in multilateral organizations, including leadership on "Women & Economy in APEC. Verveer also met frequently with women who were on the front lines of the "Arab Awakening". President Obama appointed Verveer as Ambassador to the Commission on the Status of Women. She also served as the Co-Chair of the US-Afghan Women's Council.