List of ambassadors of the United States to France
Ambassador of the United States to France Ambassadeur des États-Unis en France | |
---|---|
Seal of the United States Department of State | |
Residence | Hôtel de Pontalba |
Nominator | The President of the United States |
Inaugural holder |
Benjamin Franklin as Envoy |
Formation | 1778 |
Website | U.S. Embassy – Paris |
The United States Ambassador to France is the official representative of the President of the United States to the President of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations were upgraded to the higher rank of Ambassador in 1893. The diplomatic relationship has continued through France's five republics, two empires, and three monarchies. Since 2006 the ambassador to France has also served as the ambassador to Monaco
List of United States Chiefs of Mission in France
Ministers to the Court of Versailles (1778–1792)
Relations between the United States and the French Court of Versailles were established in 1778 with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. As a republic, the United States was not entitled to send an ambassador. Instead, relations were maintained at the lower diplomatic rank of Minister. The position was formally known as the Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America at the Court of Versailles.
Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Benjamin Franklin | September 14, 1778 | March 23, 1779 | May 17, 1785 | ||
Thomas Jefferson | March 10, 1785 | May 17, 1785 | September 26, 1789 | ||
William Short | April 20, 1790 | June 14, 1790 | May 15, 1792 | ||
Gouverneur Morris | January 12, 1792 | June 3, 1792 | April 9, 1794 | Remained as Minister after the First Republic was proclaimed. Mission terminated when the French government requested his recall. | |
Ministers to the First Republic (1792–1804)
Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
James Monroe | May 28, 1794 | August 15, 1794 | December 9, 1796 | ||
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney | September 9, 1796 | Not presented | February 5, 1797 | ||
Diplomatic relations were broken in 1796 due to French anger at U.S. neutrality in the War of the First Coalition. After the Directory refused to accept Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's credentials, a commission was appointed to negotiate with the French Republic. The members of the commission — Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry — were all accredited with the rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.[1] French officials demanded a bribe before they would commence negotiations, scuttling the mission in the XYZ Affair. Hostilities culminated in the outbreak of the Quasi-War between the U.S. and France. Diplomatic relations were restored with the Convention of 1800.
Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert R. Livingston | October 2, 1801 | December 6, 1801 | November 18, 1804 | Remained as Minister after Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed emperor. | |
James Monroe was accredited Minister Plenipotentiary to the French Republic in 1803 to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase.[2] However, Robert Livingston remained chief of mission.
Ministers to the First Empire (1804–1814)
Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Armstrong | June 30, 1804 | November 18, 1804 | September 14, 1810 | ||
Joel Barlow | February 27, 1811 | November 17, 1811 | December 26, 1812 | Died in Żarnowiec during the French retreat from Moscow. | |
William H. Crawford | April 9, 1813 | December 14, 1813 August 16, 1814 |
April 26, 1815 to April 30, 1815 | Reaccredited to the Court of Versailles. | |
Ministers to the Court of Versailles (1814–1830)
The Congress of Vienna standardized the system of diplomatic ranks. The United States continued to send a Minister, who was officially credentialed as an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albert Gallatin | February 28, 1815 | July 16, 1816 | May 16, 1823 | ||
James Brown | December 9, 1823 | April 13, 1824 | June 28, 1829 | ||
William Cabell Rives | April 18, 1829 | October 25, 1829 January 14, 1831 |
September 27, 1832 | Reaccredited to the Kingdom of France. | |
Ministers to the Kingdom of France (1830–1848)
Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edward Livingston | May 29, 1833 | September 30, 1833 | April 29, 1835 | ||
Lewis Cass | October 4, 1836 | December 1, 1836 | November 12, 1842 | ||
William R. King | April 9, 1844 | July 1, 1844 | September 15, 1846 | ||
Richard Rush | March 3, 1847 | July 31, 1847 April 26, 1848 |
October 8, 1849 | Reaccredited to the Second Republic. | |
Ministers to the Second Republic (1848–1852)
Name | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
William Cabell Rives | July 20, 1849 | November 8, 1849 January 10, 1853 |
May 12, 1853 | Reaccredited to the Second Empire. | |
Ministers to France
- John Y. Mason: 1853–1859
- Charles J. Faulkner: 1860–1861
- William L. Dayton: 1861–1864
- John Bigelow: 1864–1866
- John Adams Dix: 1866–1869
- Elihu B. Washburne: 1869–1877
- Edward F. Noyes: 1877–1881
- Levi P. Morton: 1881–1885
- Robert Milligan McLane: 1885–1889
- Whitelaw Reid: 1889–1892
- T. Jefferson Coolidge: 1893–1893
Ambassadors to the Third Republic
- James Biddle Eustis: 1893–1897[3]
- Horace Porter: 1897–1905
- Robert Sanderson McCormick: 1905–1907
- Henry White: 1907–1909
- Robert Bacon: 1909–1912
- Myron T. Herrick: 1912–1914
- William Graves Sharp: 1914–1919
- Hugh Campbell Wallace: 1919–1921
- Myron T. Herrick: 1921–1929
- Walter E. Edge: 1929–1933
- Jesse Isidor Straus: 1933–1936
- William C. Bullitt: 1936–1940
- William D. Leahy: 1941–1942
- After Leahy left, S. Pinkney Tuck served as interim Chargé d'affaires until France severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. on November 8, 1942, the date of Operation Torch
Ambassadors to the Fourth Republic
- Jefferson Caffery: December 30, 1944 – 1949
- The Embassy in Paris had been opened to the public December 1, 1944, with Ambassador Caffery in charge pending presentation of his letter of credence.
- David K. E. Bruce: 1949–1952
- James C. Dunn: 1952–1953
- C. Douglas Dillon: 1953–1957
- Amory Houghton: 1957–1961
- James M. Gavin: 1961–1962
Ambassadors to the Fifth Republic
- Charles E. Bohlen: 1962–1968
- Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr.: 1968–1970
- Arthur K. Watson: 1970–1972
- John N. Irwin, II: 1973–1974
- Kenneth Rush: 1974–1977
- Arthur A. Hartman: 1977–1981
- Evan Griffith Galbraith: 1981–1985
- Joe M. Rodgers: 1985–1989
- Walter Curley: 1989–1993
- Pamela Harriman: 1993–1997
- Felix Rohatyn: 1997–2000
- Howard H. Leach: 2001–2005
- Craig Roberts Stapleton: 2005–2009
- Charles Rivkin: 2009–2013[4][5]
- Mark A. Taplin (ad interim): 2013–2014[6]
- Jane D. Hartley: 2014–2017
- Uzra Zeya (Chargé d'affaires): 2017
- Brent Hardt (Chargé d'affaires): 2017
- Jamie D. McCourt: 2017–present
See also
References
- ↑ Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth; Gerry, Elbridge; Marshall, John (1798). Authentic Copies of the Correspondence of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry, Esqrs. Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary to the Republic of France: As Presented to Both Houses of Congress, April 3, 1798, by His Excellency John Adams. J. Derrett. p. 62.
The undersigned Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the French Republic, had the honour of announcing to you officially, on the 6th of October, their arrival at Paris, and of presenting to you on the 8th, a copy of their letters of credence.
- ↑ "Image 906 of James Monroe Papers: Series 1, General Correspondence, 1758-1839; 1796 Mar. 22-1803 Oct. 8 (Reel 2)". The Library of Congress.
- ↑ "Ambassadors and Chiefs of Mission – FAQs – About Us – Office of the Historian".
- ↑ Knowlton, Brian (August 16, 2009). "New U.S. Envoy Takes Up Post". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
- ↑ "Ambassador Charles Rivkin permanently departed post on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 following his nomination by President Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary of the State Department's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs". Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ↑ "Our Charge D'Affairs Ad Interim". US Embassy to France. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
Further reading
- Willson, Beckles. America's Ambassadors to France (1777-1927): A Narrative of Franco-American Diplomatic Relations (1928).
External links
- United States Embassy in Paris official site
- United States Department of State: France
- United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for France
- United States Department of State: Background notes on France
- Interview with 1984 U.S. Ambassador to France from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives