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List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom

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Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Kingdom
Ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James's
United States ambassador flag
since August 1, 2013
U.S. Department of State
Embassy of the United States, London
StyleHis Excellency (Formal)
Mr. Ambassador (Informal)
Reports toU.S. Secretary of State
ResidenceWinfield House
SeatLondon, United Kingdom
NominatorThe President
AppointerThe President
with the advice and consent of the Senate
Term lengthAt the pleasure of the President
No fixed term
Inaugural holderJohn Adams
as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James's
Formation1785
DeputyDeputy Chief of Mission, Lewis Lukens.
WebsiteUS Embassy – London

The United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (known formally in the United Kingdom as Ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James's) is the official representative of the President and the Government of the United States of America to the Queen and Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The position is regarded as the most prestigious position in the United States Foreign Service due to the Special Relationship.[1] The ambassadorship has been held by various notable politicians, including five who would later become presidents: John Adams, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan. The modern tendency of American presidents (of both parties) is however to appoint keen political fundraisers from previous presidential campaigns, despite the importance and prestige of the office.

The ambassador and the embassy staff at large work at the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London. The official residence of the Ambassador of the United States of America to the Court of St. James's is Winfield House in Regent's Park.

Current Team

  • Ambassador: Matthew W. Barzun
  • Deputy Chief of Mission: Lewis Lukens
  • Belfast Consul General: Daniel James Lawton
  • Edinburgh Principal Officer: Susan A. Wilson

Ambassadors who later became U.S. presidents

List of highest-ranking American envoys to Britain

Ministers (1785–1811)

Name Portrait State Appointment Presentation Termination Appointer Notes
John Adams Massachusetts February 24, 1785 June 1, 1785 February 20, 1788   Congress Left post [a]
Thomas Pinckney South Carolina January 12, 1792 August 9, 1792 July 27, 1796   George Washington Left post
Rufus King New York May 20, 1796 July 27, 1796 May 16, 1803 Left post
James Monroe Virginia 1803 August 17, 1803 October 7, 1807   Thomas Jefferson Left post
William Pinkney Maryland February 26, 1808 April 27, 1808 May 7, 1811 Left post
Jonathan Russell Rhode Island July 27, 1811 November 15, 1811 June 18, 1812 James Madison Left post [b]

Envoys (1815–1893)

Name Portrait State Appointment Presentation Termination Appointer Notes
John Quincy Adams Massachusetts April 28, 1814 June 8, 1815 May 14, 1817   James Madison Left post
Richard Rush Pennsylvania 1817 February 12, 1818 April 27, 1825 James Monroe Left post
Rufus King New York May 5, 1825 November 11, 1825 June 16, 1826 John Quincy Adams Left post
Albert Gallatin Pennsylvania May 10, 1826 September 1, 1826 October 4, 1827 Left post
James Barbour Virginia May 23, 1828 November 24, 1828 October 1, 1829 Left post
Louis McLane Delaware 1829 October 12, 1829 June 13, 1831   Andrew Jackson Left post
Martin Van Buren New York August 8, 1831 September 21, 1831 March 19, 1832 Left post
Aaron Vail New York July 13, 1832 July 13, 1836 Left post [c]
Andrew Stevenson Virginia March 16, 1836 July 13, 1836 October 21, 1841 Left post
Edward Everett Massachusetts 1841 December 16, 1841 August 8, 1845   William Henry Harrison Left post
Louis McLane Delaware 1845 August 8, 1845 August 18, 1846   James K. Polk Left post
George Bancroft New York September 9, 1846 November 12, 1846 August 31, 1849 Left post
Abbott Lawrence Massachusetts August 20, 1849 October 20, 1849 October 12, 1852   Zachary Taylor Left post
Joseph R. Ingersoll Pennsylvania August 21, 1852 October 16, 1852 August 23, 1853 Millard Fillmore Left post
James Buchanan Pennsylvania August 20, 1849 August 23, 1853 March 15, 1856   Franklin Pierce Left post
George M. Dallas Pennsylvania February 4, 1856 April 4, 1856 May 16, 1861 Left post
Charles Francis Adams Sr. Massachusetts March 20, 1861 May 16, 1861 May 13, 1868   Abraham Lincoln Left post
Reverdy Johnson Maryland June 12, 1868 September 14, 1868 May 13, 1869   Andrew Johnson Left post
John Lothrop Motley Massachusetts April 13, 1869 June 18, 1869 December 6, 1870   Ulysses S. Grant Left post
Robert C. Schenck Ohio December 22, 1870 June 23, 1871 March 3, 1876 Left post
Edwards Pierrepont New York May 22, 1876 July 11, 1876 December 22, 1877 Left post
John Welsh Pennsylvania November 9, 1877 December 22, 1877 August 14, 1879 Rutherford B. Hayes Left post
James Russell Lowell Massachusetts January 26, 1880 March 11, 1880 May 19, 1885 Left post
Edward John Phelps Vermont March 23, 1885 May 19, 1885 January 31, 1889   Grover Cleveland Left post
Robert Todd Lincoln Illinois March 30, 1889 May 25, 1889 May 4, 1893   Benjamin Harrison Left post

Ambassadors (1893–present)

Name Portrait State Appointment Presentation Termination Appointer Notes
Thomas F. Bayard Delaware 1893 June 22, 1893 March 17, 1897   Grover Cleveland Left post
John Hay Indiana 1897 May 3, 1897 September 12, 1898   William McKinley Left post
Joseph Hodges Choate New York January 19, 1899 March 6, 1899 May 23, 1905 Left post
Whitelaw Reid New York March 8, 1905 June 5, 1905 December 15, 1912 Theodore Roosevelt Died in office
Walter Hines Page New York April 21, 1913 May 30, 1913 October 3, 1918   Woodrow Wilson Left post
John W. Davis West Virginia November 21, 1918 December 18, 1918 March 9, 1921 Left post
George Brinton McClellan Harvey New Jersey April 16, 1921 May 12, 1921 November 3, 1923   Warren G. Harding Left post
Frank B. Kellogg Minnesota 1924 January 14, 1924 February 10, 1925 Calvin Coolidge Left post
Alanson B. Houghton New York February 24, 1925 April 27, 1925 March 28, 1929 Left post
Charles G. Dawes Illinois April 16, 1929 June 15, 1929 December 30, 1931 Herbert Hoover Left post
Andrew W. Mellon Pennsylvania February 5, 1932 April 9, 1932 March 17, 1933 Left post
Robert Worth Bingham Kentucky March 23, 1933 May 23, 1933 November 19, 1937   Franklin D. Roosevelt Left post
Joseph P. Kennedy Massachusetts January 17, 1938 March 8, 1938 October 22, 1940 Left post
John G. Winant New Hampshire February 11, 1941 March 1, 1941 April 10, 1946 Left post
W. Averell Harriman New York April 2, 1946 April 30, 1946 October 1, 1946 Harry S. Truman Left post
Lewis W. Douglas Arizona March 6, 1947 March 25, 1947 November 16, 1950 Left post
Walter S. Gifford New York December 12, 1950 December 21, 1950 January 23, 1953 Left post
Winthrop W. Aldrich New York February 2, 1953 February 20, 1953 February 1, 1957   Dwight D. Eisenhower Left post
John Hay Whitney New York February 11, 1957 February 28, 1957 January 14, 1961 Left post
David K. E. Bruce Maryland February 22, 1961 March 17, 1961 March 20, 1969   John F. Kennedy Left post
Walter Annenberg Pennsylvania March 14, 1969 April 29, 1969 October 30, 1974   Richard Nixon Left post
Elliot Richardson Massachusetts February 20, 1975 March 21, 1975 January 16, 1976 Gerald Ford Left post
Anne Armstrong Texas January 29, 1976 March 17, 1976 March 3, 1977 Left post
Kingman Brewster, Jr. Connecticut April 29, 1977 June 3, 1977 February 23, 1981   Jimmy Carter Left post
John J. Louis, Jr. Illinois May 7, 1981 May 27, 1981 November 7, 1983   Ronald Reagan Left post
Charles H. Price II Missouri November 11, 1983 December 20, 1983 February 28, 1989 Left post
Henry E. Catto, Jr. File:Henry Catto.jpg Texas April 14, 1989 May 17, 1989 March 13, 1991 George H. W. Bush Left post
Raymond G. H. Seitz Texas April 25, 1991 June 25, 1991 May 10, 1994 Left post
William J. Crowe, Jr. Virginia May 13, 1994 June 2, 1994 September 20, 1997   Bill Clinton Left post
Philip Lader South Carolina August 1, 1997 September 22, 1997 February 28, 2001 Left post
William S. Farish III Texas July 12, 2001 August 1, 2001 June 11, 2004   George W. Bush Left post
Robert H. Tuttle California July 9, 2005 October 19, 2005 February 6, 2009 Left post
Louis Susman Illinois July 13, 2009 October 13, 2009 April 3, 2013   Barack Obama Left post
Matthew Barzun Kentucky August 6, 2013 December 4, 2013 Incumbent
TBA   Donald Trump

See also

Notes

  1. ^ John Adams became so frustrated with his cool reception at the court that he closed the legation in 1788 and the post remained vacant for four years.[2]
  2. ^ From 1811 to the outbreak of the War of 1812, chargé d'affaires Johnathan Russell was the chief United States officer in London. The United States severed relations with the United Kingdom on the outbreak of the War of 1812 – Normal relations were restored in 1815.[2]
  3. ^ Chargé d'affaires

References

  1. ^ Collier, Peter; Horowitz, David (2002). The Kennedys: An American Drama. p. 6.
  2. ^ a b "United Kingdom". Diplomatic History of the United States. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved May 30, 2011.

Additional sources consulted

Further reading

  • Alison R. Holmes and J. Simon Rofe, The Embassy in Grosvenor Square: American Ambassadors to the United Kingdom, 1938-2008. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
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