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List of ambassadors of the United States to Ukraine

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Ambassador of the United States to Ukraine
Посол Сполучених Штатів в Україні
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Bridget Brink
since May 30, 2022
NominatorThe President of the United States
Inaugural holderRoman Popadiuk
as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
FormationMay 11, 1992
WebsiteU.S. Embassy – Kyiv

The ambassador of the United States to Ukraine is the highest-ranking diplomatic position of the United States in Ukraine. The U.S. ambassadors are nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to Ukraine. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, their appointment must be confirmed by the United States Senate;[1] while an ambassador may be appointed during a recess, they can serve only until the end of the next session of Congress, unless subsequently confirmed.[2] Ambassadors are under the jurisdiction of the Department of State and answer directly to the secretary of state; however, ambassadors serve "at the pleasure of the President", meaning they can be dismissed at any time. Appointments change regularly for various reasons, such as reassignment or retirement. An ambassador may be a career Foreign Service Officer (career diplomat – CD) or a political appointee (PA). In most cases, career foreign service officers serve a tour of approximately three years per ambassadorship, whereas political appointees customarily tender their resignations upon the inauguration of a new American president. The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine resides in Kyiv, the country's capital and location of the U.S. Embassy.

The U.S. recognized Ukraine's independence on 25 December 1991 and the following year, opened an embassy and appointed the first American ambassador to the country on 21 January 1992. Upon the breakup of the USSR, the parliament of Ukraine declared the nation's independence on August 24, 1991. On December 1, 1991, the people of Ukraine voted to approve the declaration by a wide margin. The United States recognized Ukraine on December 26, 1991, and the U.S. embassy in Kyiv was established on January 23, 1992, with Jon Gundersen as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The first ambassador was commissioned in May 1992. In January 2022, the embassy requested the evacuation of non-essential personnel and their families as the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis escalated.[3]

Chiefs of mission

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No. Image Name Type Title Appointed Presented credentials Terminated mission
– Jon Gundersen Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim January 23, 1992 May 11, 1992
1 Roman Popadiuk Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 11, 1992 June 4, 1992 July 30, 1993
2 William Green Miller Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 16, 1993 October 21, 1993 January 6, 1998
3 Steven Pifer Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 10, 1997 January 20, 1998 October 9, 2000
4 Carlos Pascual Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 15, 2000 October 22, 2000 May 1, 2003
5 John E. Herbst Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 1, 2003 September 20, 2003 May 26, 2006
6 William B. Taylor Jr. Political appointee[4] Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 30, 2006[4] June 21, 2006 May 23, 2009[5]
7 John F. Tefft[6] Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary[7] November 20, 2009[5] December 7, 2009[7] July 9, 2013
8 Geoffrey R. Pyatt[8][9] Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 30, 2013[9] August 15, 2013[8] August 18, 2016
9 Marie Yovanovitch Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 18, 2016[10] August 29, 2016 May 20, 2019
– Joseph Pennington Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim May 20, 2019 May 28, 2019
– Kristina Kvien Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim[11] May 28, 2019 June 18, 2019[12]
– William B. Taylor Jr. Political appointee[4] Chargé d'Affaires ad interim[13] June 18, 2019[12] January 1, 2020[14]
– Kristina Kvien Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim January 1, 2020[15] May 29, 2022[16]
10 Bridget Brink Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 18, 2022 May 30, 2022

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ U.S. Senate – Powers & Procedure Archived October 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Senate.gov; retrieved May 25, 2012.
  2. ^ Henry B. Hogue. "Recess Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  3. ^ "US embassy in Ukraine 'requests staff evacuation' amid war fears". the Guardian. January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "William B. Taylor Jr". Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute, United States Department of State. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  5. ^ a b New U.S. ambassador Tefft arrives in Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine (December 2, 2009)
  6. ^ Ex-US ambassador to Georgia John Tefft to lead diplomatic mission in Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine (September 30, 2009)
  7. ^ a b Yushchenko accepted credentials of US Ambassador and Ambassador of Turkey to Ukraine, UNIAN (December 7, 2009)
  8. ^ a b Yanukovych accepts credentials from new US ambassador, discusses with him Ukrainian-US relations, Interfax-Ukraine (15 August 2013)
  9. ^ a b Welcome, Mr. Pyatt!, Den (5 August 2013)
  10. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts" (Press release). White House Press Office. May 19, 2016.
  11. ^ Grytsenko, Oksana (May 31, 2019). "Kristina Kvien to temporarily head US Embassy in Ukraine". Kyiv Post. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Welcoming Ambassador William B. Taylor Back to Ukraine as Chargé d'Affaires". US Embassy in Ukraine. June 18, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  13. ^ Bonner, Brian (June 18, 2019). "William B. Taylor returns to Ukraine to lead US mission". Kyiv Post. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  14. ^ Hansler, Jennifer (January 2, 2020). "Bill Taylor departs post as top US diplomat in Ukraine | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  15. ^ Kuleba welcomes nomination of Keith Dayton for new U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine (5 May 2020)
  16. ^ "New US ambassador to Ukraine arrives in Kyiv in symbolic move". the Guardian. May 30, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.

References

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