List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom
Representative of the United States to the United Kingdom
The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom (known formally as, The Ambassador of the United States of America to the Court of St James's )[1] is the official representative of the president of the United States and the American government to the monarch (Court of St. James's ) and government of the United Kingdom .[2] The position is held by Jane D. Hartley , who presented her credentials to Queen Elizabeth II on July 19, 2022.[3]
The position is regarded as one of the most prestigious posts in the United States Foreign Service due to the "special relationship " between the United States and the United Kingdom.[4] The ambassadorship has been held by various notable politicians, including five who would later become president: John Adams , James Monroe , John Quincy Adams , Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan . However, the modern tendency of American presidents (of both parties) is to appoint keen political fundraisers from previous presidential campaigns , despite the importance and prestige of the office.[5]
The ambassador and executive staff work at the American Embassy in Nine Elms , London . The official residence of the ambassador is Winfield House in Regent's Park .[1]
Duties
The ambassador's main duty is to present U.S. policies to the government of the United Kingdom and its people, as well as report British policies and views to the federal government of the United States . The ambassador serves as a primary channel of communication between the two nations and plays an important role in treaty negotiations.
The ambassador is the head of the United States' consular service in the United Kingdom. As well as directing diplomatic activity in support of trade, the ambassador is ultimately responsible for visa services and for the provision of consular support to American citizens in the UK and oversees cultural relations between the two countries.
List of U.S. chiefs of mission to the Court of St James's
Ministers (1785–1811)
Independent
Democratic-Republican
Democrat
Whig
Republican
John Adams is referred to as the first "ambassador".[6] He is also referred to as the first "minister plenipotentiary".[7] Plenipotentiary means "having full power"; a minister that has power to act for their country in all matters.[8]
Name
Portrait
Appointment
Presentation
Termination
Appointer
Notes
John Adams
February 24, 1785
June 1, 1785
February 20, 1788
Congress
Second president of the United States[a]
Thomas Pinckney
January 12, 1792
August 9, 1792
July 27, 1796
George Washington
Rufus King
May 20, 1796
July 27, 1796
May 16, 1803
James Monroe
1803
August 17, 1803
October 7, 1807
Thomas Jefferson
Fifth president of the United States
William Pinkney
February 26, 1808
April 27, 1808
May 7, 1811
Jonathan Russell
July 27, 1811
November 15, 1811
June 18, 1812
James Madison
[b]
Ministers (1815–1893)
Diplomatic relations with what had now become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were restored after the War of 1812 . The Congress of Vienna (1815) established a uniform system of diplomatic rank . Under that system, the highest rank of "ambassador" was a personal representative of a sovereign, and the next rank of "minister", represented a government. As a republic, the United States maintained diplomatic relations with Britain at the rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary . The rank was colloquially known as Minister , and the position continued to be referred to as "United States Minister to Great Britain".
Name
Portrait
Appointment
Presentation
Termination
Appointer
Notes
John Quincy Adams
April 28, 1814
June 8, 1815
May 14, 1817
James Madison
Sixth president of the United States
Richard Rush
1817
February 12, 1818
April 27, 1825
James Monroe
Rufus King
May 5, 1825
November 11, 1825
June 16, 1826
John Quincy Adams
Albert Gallatin
May 10, 1826
September 1, 1826
October 4, 1827
William Beach Lawrence
Nov 23, 1827
November 24, 1828
[10] [11]
James Barbour
May 23, 1828
November 24, 1828
October 1, 1829
Louis McLane
1829
October 12, 1829
June 13, 1831
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
August 8, 1831
September 21, 1831
March 19, 1832
Eighth president of the United States
Aaron Vail
July 13, 1832
July 13, 1836
[c]
Andrew Stevenson
March 16, 1836
July 13, 1836
October 21, 1841
Edward Everett
1841
December 16, 1841
August 8, 1845
John Tyler
Louis McLane
1845
August 8, 1845
August 18, 1846
James K. Polk
George Bancroft
September 9, 1846
November 12, 1846
August 31, 1849
Abbott Lawrence
August 20, 1849
October 20, 1849
October 12, 1852
Zachary Taylor
Joseph R. Ingersoll
August 21, 1852
October 16, 1852
August 23, 1853
Millard Fillmore
James Buchanan
April 11, 1853
August 23, 1853
March 15, 1856
Franklin Pierce
Fifteenth president of the United States
George M. Dallas
February 4, 1856
April 4, 1856
May 16, 1861
Charles Francis Adams Sr.
March 20, 1861
May 16, 1861
May 13, 1868
Abraham Lincoln
Reverdy Johnson
June 12, 1868
September 14, 1868
May 13, 1869
Andrew Johnson
John Lothrop Motley
April 13, 1869
June 18, 1869
December 6, 1870
Ulysses S. Grant
Robert C. Schenck
December 22, 1870
June 23, 1871
March 3, 1876
Edwards Pierrepont
May 22, 1876
July 11, 1876
December 22, 1877
John Welsh
November 9, 1877
December 22, 1877
August 14, 1879
Rutherford B. Hayes
James Russell Lowell
January 26, 1880
March 11, 1880
May 19, 1885
Edward John Phelps
March 23, 1885
May 19, 1885
January 31, 1889
Grover Cleveland
Robert Todd Lincoln
March 30, 1889
May 25, 1889
May 4, 1893
Benjamin Harrison
Ambassadors (1893–present)
Although France became a republic in 1870 , the country continued to exchange ambassadors with other Great Powers. In 1893, the United States followed the French precedent and upgraded its relations with other Great Powers to the ambassadorial level. The United States Legation in London became the United States Embassy , and the United States Minister to Great Britain became the United States Ambassador to Great Britain.
Name
Portrait
Appointment
Presentation
Termination
Appointer
Notes
Thomas F. Bayard
1893
June 22, 1893
March 17, 1897
Grover Cleveland
John Hay
1897
May 3, 1897
September 12, 1898
William McKinley
Joseph Hodges Choate
January 19, 1899
March 6, 1899
May 23, 1905
Whitelaw Reid
March 8, 1905
June 5, 1905
December 15, 1912
Theodore Roosevelt
†
Walter Hines Page
April 21, 1913
May 30, 1913
October 3, 1918
Woodrow Wilson
John W. Davis
November 21, 1918
December 18, 1918
March 9, 1921
George Brinton McClellan Harvey
April 16, 1921
May 12, 1921
November 3, 1923
Warren G. Harding
Frank B. Kellogg
1924
January 14, 1924
February 10, 1925
Calvin Coolidge
Alanson B. Houghton
February 24, 1925
April 27, 1925
March 28, 1929
Charles G. Dawes
April 16, 1929
June 15, 1929
December 30, 1931
Herbert Hoover
Andrew W. Mellon
February 5, 1932
April 9, 1932
March 17, 1933
Robert Worth Bingham
March 23, 1933
May 23, 1933
November 19, 1937
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Joseph P. Kennedy
January 17, 1938
March 8, 1938
October 22, 1940
John G. Winant
February 11, 1941
March 1, 1941
April 10, 1946
W. Averell Harriman
April 2, 1946
April 30, 1946
October 1, 1946
Harry S. Truman
Lewis W. Douglas
March 6, 1947
March 25, 1947
November 16, 1950
Walter S. Gifford
December 12, 1950
December 21, 1950
January 23, 1953
Winthrop W. Aldrich
February 2, 1953
February 20, 1953
February 1, 1957
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John Hay Whitney
February 11, 1957
February 28, 1957
January 14, 1961
David K. E. Bruce
February 22, 1961
March 17, 1961
March 20, 1969
John F. Kennedy
Walter Annenberg
March 14, 1969
April 29, 1969
October 30, 1974
Richard Nixon
Elliot Richardson
February 20, 1975
March 21, 1975
January 16, 1976
Gerald Ford
Anne Armstrong
January 29, 1976
March 17, 1976
March 3, 1977
Kingman Brewster, Jr.
April 29, 1977
June 3, 1977
February 23, 1981
Jimmy Carter
John J. Louis, Jr.
May 7, 1981
May 27, 1981
November 7, 1983
Ronald Reagan
Charles H. Price II
November 11, 1983
December 20, 1983
February 28, 1989
Henry E. Catto, Jr.
April 14, 1989
May 17, 1989
March 13, 1991
George H. W. Bush
Raymond G. H. Seitz
April 25, 1991
June 25, 1991
May 10, 1994
William J. Crowe, Jr.
May 13, 1994
June 2, 1994
September 20, 1997
Bill Clinton
Philip Lader
August 1, 1997
September 22, 1997
February 28, 2001
William S. Farish III
July 12, 2001
August 1, 2001
June 11, 2004
George W. Bush
Robert H. Tuttle
July 9, 2005
October 19, 2005
February 6, 2009
Louis Susman
July 13, 2009
October 13, 2009
April 3, 2013
Barack Obama
Matthew Barzun
August 6, 2013
December 4, 2013
January 18, 2017
[d]
Lewis Lukens
January 18, 2017
January 18, 2017
November 8, 2017
Donald Trump
Chargé d'Affaires [14]
Woody Johnson
August 3, 2017
November 8, 2017
January 20, 2021
[15]
Yael Lempert
January 20, 2021
January 20, 2021
August 1, 2021
Joe Biden
Chargé d'Affaires [3]
Philip Reeker
July 15, 2021
August 1, 2021
July 19, 2022
Chargé d'Affaires [16]
Jane D. Hartley
May 25, 2022
July 19, 2022
See also
Notes
^ 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.[9]
^ 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.[9]
^ Chargé d'affaires
^ Lewis Lukens became the chargé d'affaires.[12] [13]
References
^ a b "Ambassador's Residence - Winfield House" . uk.usembassy.gov . Retrieved April 10, 2021 .
^ "Recent Ambassadors to the United Kingdom" . uk.usembassy.gov . Retrieved April 10, 2021 .
^ a b "Ambassador Jane Hartley presents her credentials to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II" . U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom . July 20, 2022. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022 .
^ Collier, Peter; Horowitz, David (2002). The Kennedys: An American Drama . p. 6.
^ Farrell, Henry (November 28, 2019). "U.S. ambassadorships are destination tourism for the mega-rich" . The Washington Post . Retrieved November 29, 2020 .
^ "John Adams - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com" . HISTORY.com . Retrieved July 8, 2018 .
^ "Eyewitness" . www.archives.gov . Retrieved July 8, 2018 .
^ "Definition of "Plenipotentiary" " . www.merriam-webster.com . Retrieved July 8, 2018 .
^ a b "United Kingdom" . Diplomatic History of the United States . US Department of State. Retrieved May 30, 2011 .
^ House Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents: 13th Congress, 2d Session-49th Congress, 1st Session . United States Congress.
^ Officers and Graduates of Columbia College: Originally the College of the Province of New York Known as King's College. General Catalogue, 1754-1894 . New York City: Columbia College. 1894.
^ Davis, Julie Hirschfeld (January 5, 2017). "In Break With Precedent, Obama Envoys Are Denied Extensions Past Inauguration Day" . The New York Times .
^ "Biography of Ambassador Matthew W. Barzun" . U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom . Retrieved January 18, 2017 .
^ "Biography of Ambassador Matthew W. Barzun" . U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom . Retrieved January 18, 2017 .
^ Borger, Julian (January 19, 2017). "New York Jets owner Woody Johnson to be US ambassador to UK" . The Guardian . Retrieved January 20, 2017 .
^ "Biden selects Jane Hartley as ambassador to U.K. (July 16, 2021)" . The Washington Post .
Further reading
External links
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