The part of Africa that is now Burundi and Rwanda was a feudal monarchy headed by a mwami (king) and a ganwa, a feudal hierarchy of Tutsi nobles and gentry until 1890. In that year the Germans attacked the nation and attempted to subdue it with armed force. Eventually the Germans backed an attempted coup d’état against the king, Mwezi Gisabo. The coup was unsuccessful, but Gisabo was eventually forced to concede and agreed to German suzerainty. The Germans then helped him suppress the revolt. Thus Burundi became part of German East Africa in 1890.
| Ambassador of the United States to Burundi | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the United States Department of State | |
 | |
| Nominator | The President of the United States |
| Appointer | The President with Senate advice and consent |
| Inaugural holder | Donald A. Dumont as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary |
| Formation | October 25, 1962 |
| Website | U.S. Embassy - Bujumbura |
In 1915 during The Great War, Belgian troops from Zaire drove the small number of Germans out of Burundi and took control of the country.
After World War I Germany lost its overseas possessions and the League of Nations mandated Burundi and its northern neighbor, Rwanda, to Belgium as the territory of Ruanda-Urundi in 1923. The western kingdoms of Ruanda-Urundi were stripped from the old colonies and given to British-administered Tanganyika. The Belgians administered the territory through indirect rule, building on the Tutsi-dominated aristocratic hierarchy.
Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory with Belgium as the administrative authority.
In June 1962 the UN General Assembly terminated the Belgian trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda and Burundi. The United States immediately recognized the Burundian government and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The U.S. Embassy in the capital Usumbura (now Bujumbura) was established on July 1, 1962, with Herbert V. Olds as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. Donald A. Dumont was appointed as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Burundi on October 25, 1962.
The rank of the mission was changed to Legation effective December 15, 1962, and to Embassy again effective September 16, 1963.
Ambassadors
edit| Name | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald A. Dumont – Career FSO[1][2][3] | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | October 25, 1962 | January 17, 1963 | August 1, 1963 | Dumont was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on August 1, 1963. This required a new commission. |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 1, 1963 | September 16, 1963 | January 10, 1966 | Recall requested by Govt. of Burundi, December 29, 1965 | |
| George W. Renchard – Career FSO | July 24, 1968 | August 10, 1968 | October 15, 1969 | ||
| Thomas Patrick Melady – Political appointee | November 4, 1969 | January 31, 1970 | May 25, 1972 | ||
| Robert L. Yost – Career FSO | June 27, 1972 | August 19, 1972 | May 26, 1974 | ||
| David E. Mark – Career FSO | June 20, 1974 | September 4, 1974 | August 26, 1977 | ||
| Thomas J. Corcoran – Career FSO[4] | March 2, 1978 | April 6, 1978 | August 19, 1980 | ||
| Frances D. Cook – Career FSO | June 30, 1980 | September 25, 1980 | March 15, 1983 | ||
| James R. Bullington – Career FSO | March 13, 1983 | April 14, 1983 | July 11, 1986 | ||
| James Daniel Phillips[5] – Career FSO | October 16, 1986 | November 20, 1986 | January 12, 1990 | ||
| Cynthia Shepard Perry – Political appointee | November 21, 1989 | February 12, 1990 | February 28, 1993 | The post was vacant from March 1993 to June 1994. Leonard J. Lange, Career FSO, served as chargé d'affaires ad interim during that period. | |
| Robert Krueger – Political appointee | May 9, 1994 | June 29, 1994 | September 10, 1995 | ||
| Morris N. Hughes, Jr. – Career FSO | June 11, 1996 | June 27, 1996 | May 14, 1999 | ||
| Mary Carlin Yates – Career FSO | November 16, 1999 | December 15, 1999 | June 19, 2002 | ||
| James Howard Yellin – Career FSO | August 8, 2002 | September 26, 2002 | July 21, 2005 | ||
| Patricia Moller – Career FSO | October 27, 2005 | March 31, 2006 | June 29, 2009[6] | ||
| Pamela J. H. Slutz - Career FSO[7] | November 2, 2009 | December 11, 2009 | February 22, 2012 | ||
| Dawn M. Liberi – Career FSO | October 19, 2012 | January 18, 2013 | July 24, 2016 | ||
| Anne S. Casper – Career FSO | May 18, 2016 | October 20, 2016 | May 5, 2019 | ||
| Eunice Reddick – Career FSO | Chargé d'Affairs ad interim | May 5, 2019 | March 2, 2021 | ||
| Melanie Harris Higgins – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 18, 2020 | March 2, 2021 | July 13, 2023 | |
| Keith R. Gilges – Career FSO | Chargé d'Affairs ad interim | July 14, 2023 | May 2024 | ||
| David Dale Reimer - Career FSO | Chargé d'Affairs ad interim | May 2024 | June 21, 2024 | ||
| Lisa J. Peterson - Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 2, 2024 | June 27, 2024 | Incumbent |
Notes
edit- ^ Dumont was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on March 12, 1963.
- ^ The rank of the mission was raised from Legation to Embassy simultaneously with Dumont’s promotion.
- ^ Following a coup d’état in Burundi, Dumont was recalled at the request of the government of Burundi on January 10, 1966.
- ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR THOMAS J. CORCORAN" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 21 June 1988. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JAMES D. PHILLIPS" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 5 May 1998. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ "Patricia Newton Moller - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
- ^ "Pamela J. H. Slutz". Biography. U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
