The long-rumored nomination of Portland public relations executive Molly H. Bordonaro to be U.S. ambassador to Malta was confirmed Wednesday with an announcement from the White House.

Bordonaro, 36, is an executive with the Gallatin Group and served as President Bush’s campaign chairwoman in Oregon, Washington and other Western states in 2000 and 2004. She was a Republican candidate for Congress in 1998, losing narrowly to Rep. David Wu, D-Ore.

Once confirmed by the Senate, Bordonaro said that she, her husband and their three young children will move to Malta, a nation in the Mediterranean Sea.

Malta is about twice the size of Washington, D.C., and has a population of about 400,000. A crucial British stronghold during World War II, it gained full independence from Great Britain in 1964.