Ambassadors of the United States
The diplomats serving as ambassadors of the United States of America to individual nations of the world, to international organizations, and ambassadors-at-large change regularly for various reasons, such as reassignment or retirement. The United States Department of State provides lists of ambassadors appointed to serve overseas which are updated periodically.[1] (A recent list {pdf} was issued on October 1, 2018.[2]) A listing by country of past chiefs of mission is maintained by the Office of the Historian of the U.S. Department of State.[3] That same office maintains a list of the names and appointment dates of past and present ambassadors-at-large,[4] as well as chiefs of mission to international organizations.[5] This information may also be available in the final pages of the aforementioned periodically updated lists of overseas ambassadors.[1]
The ambassadors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate.[6] An ambassador can be appointed during a recess, but he or she can only serve as ambassador until the end of the next session of Congress unless subsequently confirmed.[7] Ambassadors serve "at the pleasure of the President", meaning they can be dismissed at any time.
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 president. As embassies fall under the State Department's jurisdiction, ambassadors answer directly to the Secretary of State.
Current U.S. ambassadors
Note that the information in this list is subject to change due to regular personnel changes resulting from retirements, reassignments, etc. The State Department posts updated lists of ambassadors approximately monthly, accessible via an interactive menu-based website.[1] As of early June 2018 there remained 28 vacant ambassadorships.[8]
Ambassadors to international organizations
Current ambassadors from the United States to international organizations:
Ambassadors-at-Large
Current Ambassadors-at-Large from the United States with worldwide responsibility:[41][42]
| Portfolio | List | Ambassador | Background | Website | Confirmed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counterterrorism (Coordinator) | List | Nathan Alexander Sales | PA | [54] | August 3, 2017 |
| Global AIDS Combat (Coordinator) | List | Deborah L. Birx | PA | [55] | April 4, 2014 |
| Global Criminal Justice | List | Todd F. Buchwald | CD | [56] | December 30, 2015 |
| Global Women's Issues | List | Vacant | (N/A) | [57] | |
| International Religious Freedom | List | Sam Brownback | PA | [58] | January 24, 2018 |
| Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (Director) | List | Susan P. Coppedge | PA | [59] | October 19, 2015 |
Other Chiefs of Mission
Senior diplomatic representatives of the United States hosted in posts other than embassies. Unlike other consulates, these persons report directly to the Secretary of State.
| Host country | List | Ambassador | Title | Website | Appointed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Curaçao[43]
|
List | Margaret Hawthorne | Consul General and Chief of Mission | Curaçao | April 2016 |
 Hong Kong[44]
|
List | Kurt Tong | Consul General and Chief of Mission | Hong Kong [60] | August 27, 2016 |
| Template:Country data Jerusalem[45] | List | Donald Blome | Consul General and Chief of Mission | Jerusalem [61] | July 27, 2015 |
 Macau[44]
|
List | Kurt Tong | Consul General and Chief of Mission | Hong Kong [62] | August 27, 2016 |
 Taiwan
|
List | Kin W. Moy | Director | Taipei [63] | June 8, 2015 |
Special Envoys, Representatives and Coordinators
These diplomatic officials report directly to the Secretary of State. Many oversee a portfolio not restricted to one nation, often an overall goal, and are not usually subject to Senate confirmation.[46][42][47]
| Portfolio | Officeholder (Title) | Website | Appointed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan and Pakistan | Vacant since November 17, 2016 (Special Representative) Laurel Miller, acting |
[64] | |
| Arctic Region | Vacant since January 20, 2017 (Special Representative) | [65] | |
| Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation | Matthew Matthews (Senior Official) | [66] | May 17, 2015 |
| Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia | Alina Romanowski (Coordinator) | [67] | March 9, 2015 |
| Biological & Toxin Weapons Convention Issues | Robert Wood (Special Representative) | [68] | October 2, 2014 |
| Burma | Vacant since November 19, 2014 (Senior Advisor) | [69] | |
| Central African Republic | Stuart Symington (Special Representative) | [70] | April 21, 2014 |
| Civil Society and Emerging Democracies | Vacant since October 31, 2014 (Coordinator) | [71] | |
| Climate Change | Vacant since January 20, 2017 (Special Envoy) | [72] | |
| Closure of the Guantánamo Detention Facility | Vacant since January 20, 2017 (Special Envoy) | [73] | |
| Commercial and Business Affairs | Vacant (Special Representative) Margaret Hawley, acting |
[74] | |
| Conference on Disarmament | Robert Wood (Special Representative) | [75] | October 2, 2014 |
| Counterterrorism | Justin Siberell (Coordinator) | [76] | July 9, 2012 |
| Cyber Issues | Christopher Painter (Coordinator) | [77] | February 22, 2011 |
| Environment and Water Resources | Vacant (Special Representative) | [78] | |
| Fissile Material Negotiator | Michael Guhin (Senior Cutoff Coordinator) | [79] | August 10, 2009 |
| Global Coalition to Counter ISIL | Brett H. McGurk (Special Presidential Envoy) | [80] | November 13, 2015 |
| Global Criminal Justice | Todd Buchwald (Special Coordinator) | [81] | December 30, 2015 |
| Global Engagement Center | Vacant | [82] | |
| Global Food Security | Vacant (Special Representative) Ted Lyng, acting |
[83] | |
| Global Health Diplomacy | Deborah L. Birx (Special Representative/Ambassador) | [84] | April 14, 2014 |
| Global Partnerships | Vacant (Special Representative) Thomas Debass, acting |
[85] | |
| Global Youth Issues | Andy Rabens (Special Advisor) | [86] | October 19, 2014 |
| Great Lakes Region of Africa | Laurence D. Wohlers (Special Envoy) | [87] | January 2017 |
| Haiti | Kenneth Merten (Special Coordinator) | [88] | August 17, 2015 |
| Holocaust Issues | Thomas K. Yazdgerdi (Special Envoy) Stu Eizenstat (Special Advisor) |
[89] | August 22, 2016 December 18, 2013 |
| Hostage Affairs | James O'Brien (Special Presidential Envoy) | [90] | August 28, 2015 |
| Human Rights of LGBTI Persons | Randy W. Berry (Special Envoy) | [91] | April 13, 2015 |
| International Communications and Information Policy | Vacant (Coordinator/Ambassador) | [92] | |
| International Disabilities Rights | Vacant (Special Advisor) | [93] | |
| International Energy Affairs | Vacant (Special Envoy and Coordinator) Mary Warlick acting |
[94] | |
| International Information Programs | Vacant (Coordinator) Jonathan Henick, acting |
[95] | |
| International Information Technology Diplomacy | Vacant (Senior Coordinator) | [96] | |
| International Labor Affairs | Vacant (Special Representative) | [97] | |
| Iran Nuclear Implementation | Vacant(Coordinator) | [98] | |
| Israel and the Palestinian Authority | Frederick Rudesheim (Security Coordinator) | [99] | January 2015 |
| Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations | Frank Lowenstein (Special Envoy) | [100] | July 1, 2014 |
| Knowledge Management | Vacant (Senior Coordinator) | [101] | |
| Libya | Vacant since January 20, 2017 (Special Envoy) | ||
| Middle East Transitions | Vacant (Special Coordinator) | [102] | |
| Minsk | Vacant (Senior Representative) | [103] | |
| Monitor and Combat Anti-semitism | Vacant (Special Envoy) | [104] | |
| Muslim Communities | Vacant (Special Representative) | [105] | |
| Nonproliferation and Arms Control | Vacant since June 10, 2010 (Special Advisor) | [106] | |
| North Korea Policy | Joseph Yun (Special Representative) | [107] | October 17, 2016 |
| North Korean Human Rights Issues | Vacant (Special Envoy) | [108] | |
| Northern Ireland Issues | Vacant (Presidential Representative) | [109] | |
| Nuclear Nonproliferation | Vacant (Special Representative of the President/Ambassador) | [110] | |
| Organization of Islamic Cooperation | Vacant since February 13, 2015 (Special Envoy) | [111] | |
| Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review | Vacant since July 6, 2015 (Special Representative) | [112] | |
| Religion and Global Affairs | Vacant (Special Representative) Amy Lillis, acting |
[113] | |
| Religious Minorities in the Near East and South/Central Asia | Knox Thames (Special Envoy) | [114] [115] | September 28, 2015 |
| Sanctions Policy | Vacant (Coordinator) | [116] | |
| Science and Technology | Vacant (Advisor) | [117] | |
| Secretary Initiatives | Vacant (Special Advisor) | ||
| Senior Advisor to the Secretary | Vacant (Senior Advisor) | ||
| Six-Party Talks | Vacant since September 2015 (Special Envoy) | [118] | |
| Somalia | Vacant (Special Representative) | [119] | |
| Sudan and South Sudan | Vacant (Special Envoy) | [120] | |
| Syria | Michael Ratney (Special Envoy) | [121] | July 27, 2015 |
| Threat Reduction Programs | Bonnie Jenkins (Coordinator/Ambassador) | [122] | July 13, 2009 |
| Tibetan Issues | Vacant (Special Coordinator) | [123] | |
| Transparency | Janice Jacobs (Coordinator) | September 8, 2015 | |
| Ukraine Negotiations | Kurt Volker (Special Representative) | [124] | July 7, 2017 |
Nations without exchange of ambassadors
- Bhutan: According to the U.S. State Department, "The United States and the Kingdom of Bhutan have not established formal diplomatic relations; however, the two governments have informal and cordial relations".[48] Informal contact with the nation of Bhutan is maintained through the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.[48]
- Iran: On April 7, 1980, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.[49] On April 24, 1981, the Swiss government assumed representation of U.S. interests in Tehran, and Algeria assumed representation of Iranian interests in the United States.[50] Currently, Iranian interests in the United States are represented by the government of Pakistan. The U.S. Department of State named Iran a "State Sponsor of Terrorism" on January 19, 1984.[51]
- North Korea: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is not on friendly terms with the United States, and while talks between the two countries are ongoing, there is no exchange of ambassadors. Sweden functions as Protective Power for the United States in Pyongyang and performs limited consular responsibilities for U.S. citizens in North Korea.[52]
- Taiwan: With the normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China in 1979, the United States has not maintained official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Relations between Taiwan and the United States are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington, D.C., and twelve other U.S. cities. The Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan, a non-profit, public corporation, functions as a de facto embassy, performing most consular functions and staffed by Foreign Service Officers who are formally "on leave."[53]
Selected past ambassadors
Many well-known individuals have served the United States as ambassadors, or in formerly analogous positions such as envoy, including several who also became President of the United States (indicated in boldface below). Some notable ambassadors have included:
Ambassadors killed in office
Eight United States Ambassadors have been killed in office – six of them by armed attack and the other two in plane crashes.[54]
| Name | Ambassador to | Place | Country | Date of death | Killed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurence Steinhardt | Canada | Ramsayville, Ontario |  Canada
|
March 28, 1950 | plane crash |
| John Mein | Guatemala | Guatemala City |  Guatemala
|
August 28, 1968 | attack by Rebel Armed Forces |
| Cleo Noel | Sudan | Khartoum |  Sudan
|
March 2, 1973 | attack by Black September Palestinian Terrorists |
| Rodger Davies | Cyprus | Nicosia |  Cyprus
|
August 19, 1974 | attack during Greek Cypriot demonstration |
| Francis Meloy | Lebanon | Beirut |  Lebanon
|
June 16, 1976 | attack by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |
| Adolph Dubs | Afghanistan | Kabul |  Afghanistan
|
February 14, 1979 | attack by Settam-e-Melli |
| Arnold Raphel | Pakistan | Bahawalpur |  Pakistan
|
August 17, 1988 | plane crash |
| Chris Stevens | Libya | Benghazi |  Libya
|
September 11, 2012 | attack by Ansar al-Sharia on a U.S. diplomatic mission |
Ambassadors to past countries
See also
- Chief of Protocol of the United States
- List of ambassadors to the United States
- List of United States Foreign Service Career Ambassadors
- List of LGBT ambassadors of the United States
Notes and references
- ^ a b c "U.S. Ambassadors: Current List of Ambassadorial Appointments Overseas (listings arranged by date)". state.gov. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- ^ "Ambassadorial Assignments Overseas" (PDF). U.S. Department of State. October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Chiefs of Mission Listed by Country". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- ^ "Ambassadors at Large". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ "Chiefs of Mission to International Organizations". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ U.S. Senate – Powers & Procedure, Senate.gov; retrieved May 25, 2012.
- ^ Henry B. Hogue. "Recess Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
- ^ Harris, Gardiner (June 6, 2018). "A Growing List of U.S. Diplomats Acting Undiplomatically". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- ^ a b The U.S. Ambassador to Spain, resident at Madrid, is also accredited to Andorra.
- ^ a b c d e f g The United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, resident in Bridgetown, Barbados, is concurrently accredited to Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
- ^ "Chargé d'affaires Robert Riley".
- ^ President Morales ordered the expulsion of U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg as well as all U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration personnel in September 2008. The U.S. Government ordered the reciprocal expulsion of the Bolivian Ambassador in Washington, Gustavo Guzman. Source: U.S. Department of State Background Notes on Bolivia
- ^ In 1989 the military government of Burma changed the name of the nation to Myanmar, but the United States government—and other Western governments—still refer to the country as Burma in official usage. See Myanmar.
- ^ Embassy suspended operations on December 28, 2012. French embassy acted as protecting power from April 25, 2013. Relations resumed from September 15, 2014
- ^ Department of State – Central African Republic: Resumption of Operations at Embassy Bangui
- ^ 7 FAM 1022 – Bilateral Protecting Power Arrangements
- ^ a b One ambassador, resident at Antananarivo, is accredited to Madagascar and Comoros.
- ^ a b c d One ambassador, resident at Suva, is accredited to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu. Source U.S. Embassy Suva.
- ^ a b As of December 2006, the U.S. ambassador to France is also accredited to Monaco.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Jim (Aug 3, 2017). "Jamie McCourt to be nominated as ambassador to France". Boston Globe.
- ^ a b One ambassador, resident at Libreville, is accredited to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe. Source: U.S. State Department
- ^ a b One ambassador, resident at Dakar, is accredited to Guinea-Bissau and Senegal.
- ^ a b The U.S. Ambassador to Rome is also accredited to San Marino. The U.S. Consulate in Florence handles matters concerned with San Marino.
- ^ a b One ambassador, resident at Bern, is accredited to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
- ^ a b One ambassador, resident at Colombo, is accredited to Maldives and Sri Lanka.
- ^ a b One ambassador, resident at Port Louis, is accredited to Mauritius and Seychelles.
- ^ Until December 2006, the United States and Monaco had no formal diplomatic relations (exchange of ambassadors). The U.S. Consul General in Marseille, France, under the authority of the U.S. Ambassador to France, managed relations with Monaco. In December 2006, the United States and Monaco upgraded from consular to full diplomatic relations and Ambassador Craig Stapleton (France) was accredited to Monaco. Source: Department of State: Background notes on Monaco, U.S. Embassy in France: U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Monaco.
- ^ a b One ambassador, resident at Wellington, is accredited to New Zealand and Samoa.
- ^ American citizens who travel to North Korea do so at their own risk and in some cases in violation of U.S. and/or UN sanctions.
- ^ a b Until 2005 one ambassador, resident at Manila, was accredited to the Philippines and Palau. Source: CIA World Factbook. Helen Reed-Rowe is the first ambassador to Palau to be confirmed in 2010.
- ^ a b c One ambassador, resident at Port Moresby, is accredited to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
- ^ "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Ryan Gliha". November 30, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ Managed through the U.S. Embassy in Kenya. The United States has no diplomatic relations with Somalia. The last ambassador to Somalia was James Bishop when the embassy in Mogadishu was closed on January 5, 1991. Source: U.S State Department.
- ^ "Virtual Presence Post Somalia".
- ^ The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum was closed on February 7, 1996. Timothy Michael Carney was the last ambassador to Sudan. The embassy was reopened on May 23, 2002, with Jeffrey Millington as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. There has been no U.S. ambassador in Khartoum since then. Source U.S. Department of State.
- ^ After formal relations were reestablished in 2010 after five years, the embassy was again suspended on February 6, 2014. Poland became the protecting power until its embassy closed on July 27, at which point the Czech Republic took responsibility.
- ^ The ambassador to the U.K. is known as the "Ambassador to the Court of St. James's."
- ^ President Chavez ordered the expulsion of the U.S. Ambassador, John Duddy, on September 11, 2008, in solidarity with the Bolivian government's decision to expel the U.S. Ambassador in La Paz. The U.S. Government ordered the reciprocal expulsion of the Venezuelan Ambassador in Washington. Source: U.S. Department of State Background Notes on Venezuela
- ^ The US neither recognizes Moroccan claims to sovereignty over Western Sahara. Sources: Western Sahara, Foreign relations of Western Sahara, Foreign relations of Morocco.
- ^ Haberman, Maggie (October 9, 2018). "Nikki Haley to Resign as Trump's Ambassador to the U.N." www.nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2018. Resignation to take effect at end of 2018.
- ^ United States Ambassadors at Large
- ^ a b Assistant Secretaries and Other Senior Officials
- ^ While solely accredited to Curaçao, the Consul General is responsible for all the countries and special municipalities of the former Netherlands Antilles, including Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius.
- ^ a b The United States Consul General to Hong Kong, resident in Hong Kong, is concurrently accredited to Macau.
- ^ The Consul General to Jerusalem is also responsible for residents in the Palestinian territories.
- ^ "Special Envoys, Representatives and Coordinators". American Foreign Service Association. October 26, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
- ^ Alphabetical List of Bureaus and Offices
- ^ a b "Bhutan (08/04)". United States Department of State.
- ^ Goshko, John M.; Walsh, Edward (April 8, 1980). "U.S. Breaks Diplomatic Ties With Iran: Carter Breaks Ties, Orders Ouster of Iranian Diplomats". The Washington Post. p. A1.
- ^ "Former No. 2 Iran Diplomat To Be Allowed Back in U.S." The Washington Post. April 25, 1980. p. A27.
- ^ "Chapter 3 - State Sponsors of Terrorism Overview". State.gov. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
- ^ "The Embassy | SwedenAbroad". swedenabroad.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
- ^ Roy, Denny (2003). Taiwan: a political history (1. publ. ed.). Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801488054.
- ^ "US Ambassadors Killed in the Line of Duty". Associated Press. 2012-09-12. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ambassadors of the United States.
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| Defunct countries | |
| Other places | |
| International organizations | |
| Ambassadors-at-large | |
| Ambassadors by President | |
| Other | |
