List of ambassadors of the United States to Liberia
(Redirected from US Ambassador to Liberia)
This is a record of ambassadors of the United States to Liberia.
| Ambassador of the United States to Liberia | |
|---|---|
 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 | Abraham Hanson as Commissioner/Consul General |
| Formation | June 8, 1863 |
| Website | U.S. Embassy – Monrovia |
Liberia, as a nation, had its beginnings in 1821 when groups of free blacks from the United States emigrated from the U.S. and began establishing colonies on the coast under the direction of the American Colonization Society. Between 1821 and 1847, by a combination of purchase and conquest, American Societies developed the colonies under the name "Liberia", dominating the native inhabitants of the area. In 1847 the colony declared itself an independent nation. Because it was already established as a nation, Liberia avoided becoming a European colony during the great age of European colonies in Africa during the latter half of the 19th century.
The United States recognized Liberia as an independent state in 1862 and commissioned its first representative to Liberia in 1863. The representative, Abraham Hanson, was appointed commissioner/consul general. The status of the commissioner was later upgraded to Minister, and finally to full ambassador in 1949. Relations between the United States and Liberia have been continuous since that time.
Eight U.S. ambassadors have died at their post serving in Liberia.
The U.S. embassy in Liberia is located in Monrovia.
Ambassadors
edit| Name | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abraham Hanson[1] | Commissioner/Consul General | June 8, 1863 | February 23, 1864 | July 20, 1866 | Died at post |
| John Seys[2] | Minister Resident/Consul General | October 8, 1866 | January 2, 1867 | June 11, 1870 | |
| J. Milton Turner | March 1, 1871 | July 19, 1871 | May 7, 1878 | ||
| John H. Smythe | May 23, 1878 | August 19, 1878 | December 22, 1881 | ||
| Henry Highland Garnet[3] | June 30, 1881 | December 22, 1881 | February 13, 1882 | Died at post | |
| John H. Smythe | April 12, 1882 | August 4, 1882 | December 14, 1885 | ||
| Moses A. Hopkins[4] | September 11, 1885 | December 14, 1885 | August 3, 1886 | Died at post | |
| Charles H. J. Taylor[5] | March 11, 1887 | June 4, 1887 | c. September 22, 1887 | ||
| Ezekiel E. Smith | April 24, 1888 | July 21, 1888 | May 20, 1890 | ||
| Alexander Clark | August 16, 1890 | November 25, 1890 | May 31, 1891 | Died at post | |
| William D. McCoy | January 11, 1892 | March 28, 1892 | May 15, 1893 | Died at post | |
| William H. Heard | February 23, 1895 | May 6, 1895 | April 28, 1898 | ||
| Owen L. W. Smith | February 11, 1898 | On or shortly before May 11, 1898 | May 13, 1902 | ||
| John R. A. Crossland | January 16, 1902 | May 13, 1902 | January 30, 1903 | ||
| Ernest Lyon | March 16, 1903 | July 27, 1903 | c. August 25, 1910 | ||
| William D. Crum | June 13, 1910 | August 25, 1910 | September 17, 1912 | ||
| George Washington Buckner – Political appointee | September 10, 1913 | December 8, 1913 | April 15, 1915 | ||
| James L. Curtis[6] – Political appointee | October 25, 1915 | December 29, 1915 | October 20, 1917 | ||
| Joseph L. Johnson – Political appointee | August 27, 1918 | October 8, 1919 | February 13, 1922 | ||
| Solomon Porter Hood – Political appointee | October 26, 1921 | February 13, 1922 | January 9, 1926 | ||
| William T. Francis[7] – Political appointee | July 9, 1927 | November 30, 1927 | July 15, 1929 | Died at post | |
| Charles E. Mitchell[8] – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | January 20, 1931 | Did not present credentials | March 22, 1933 | Government of Liberia requested his recall on February 11, 1933 |
| Lester A. Walton – Political appointee | July 22, 1935 | October 2, 1935 | February 28, 1946 | ||
| Raphael O'Hara Lanier – Political appointee | February 13, 1946 | July 1, 1946 | June 8, 1948 | ||
| Edward R. Dudley[9] – Political appointee | August 11, 1948 | October 18, 1948 | June 15, 1953 | Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary March 18, 1949 | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |||||
| Jesse D. Locker – Political appointee | July 22, 1953 | October 16, 1953 | April 10, 1955 | Died at post | |
| Richard Lee Jones – Political appointee | May 31, 1955 | June 24, 1955 | July 24, 1959 | ||
| Elbert G. Mathews – Career FSO | August 12, 1959 | September 30, 1959 | May 4, 1962 | ||
| Charles Edward Rhetts – Political appointee | July 5, 1962 | August 7, 1962 | September 30, 1964 | ||
| Ben H. Brown, Jr.[10] – Career FSO | November 25, 1964 | January 6, 1965 | July 17, 1969 | ||
| Samuel Z. Westerfield, Jr. – Career FSO | July 8, 1969 | December 9, 1969 | July 19, 1972 | Died at post | |
| Melvin L. Manfull[11] – Career FSO | December 2, 1972 | December 22, 1972 | December 15, 1975 | ||
| W. Beverly Carter, Jr. – Career FSO | April 6, 1976 | April 23, 1976 | January 1, 1979 | ||
| Robert P. Smith – Career FSO | July 2, 1979 | August 6, 1979 | January 15, 1981 | ||
| William Lacy Swing – Career FSO | July 18, 1981 | August 11, 1981 | June 10, 1985 | ||
| Edward Joseph Perkins – Career FSO | July 12, 1985 | August 28, 1985 | October 22, 1986 | ||
| James Keough Bishop – Career FSO | March 27, 1987 | May 4, 1987 | March 31, 1990 | ||
| Peter Jon de Vos – Career FSO | June 22, 1990 | Did not present credentials[12] | July 27, 1992 | From 1992–1999 the following officers served as chargés d’affaires ad interim: William H. Twaddell (September 1992 – July 1995), William B. Milam (November 1995 – January 1999), and Donald K. Petterson (February 1999 – August 1999). | |
| Bismarck Myrick – Career FSO | July 7, 1999 | August 20, 1999 | July 23, 2002 | ||
| John William Blaney – Career FSO | August 8, 2002 | October 3, 2002 | July 13, 2005 | ||
| Donald E. Booth – Career FSO | June 21, 2005 | August 9, 2005 | July 11, 2008 | ||
| Linda Thomas-Greenfield – Career FSO | July 18, 2008 | August 27, 2008[13] | February 29, 2012 | ||
| Deborah R. Malac – Career FSO | July 26, 2012 | September 20, 2012 | December 18, 2015 | ||
| Christine A. Elder – Career FSO | May 17, 2016 | June 23, 2016 | March 21, 2020 | ||
| Michael A. McCarthy – Career FSO | November 18, 2020 | January 22, 2021 | July 12, 2023[14] | ||
| Joel Maybury – Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | July 13, 2023 | August 11, 2023 | ||
| Catherine Rodriguez – Career FSO | August 11, 2023 | August 2, 2024 | |||
| Mark Toner – Career FSO | May 2, 2024[15] | August 7, 2024[16] | Incumbent |
Notes
edit- ^ Hanson was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 12, 1864.
- ^ Seys was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on February 21, 1867.
- ^ Garnet was commissioned during a recess of the Senate. His date of commissioning is not recorded. The commission was enclosed with an instruction of July 19, 1881. He was recommissioned after confirmation on October 26, 1881.
- ^ Hopkins was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 13, 1886.
- ^ Taylor was commissioned during a recess of the Senate. [Apparently not recommissioned.]
- ^ Curtis was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1915.
- ^ Francis was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1927.
- ^ Mitchel was commissioned as Minister Resident/Consul General on September 10, 1930, and recommissioned after confirmation on December 16, 1930.
- ^ Dudley was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on March 2, 1949.
- ^ Brown was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 18, 1965.
- ^ Manfull was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on February 8, 1973.
- ^ de Vos arrived at his post on June 28, 1990. He had not presented credentials before the overthrow of the government of Liberia on September 11, 1990.
- ^ "Linda Thomas-Greenfield - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
- ^ "Liberia: Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Michael McCarthy Expresses Disappointment over Government's Failure to Investigate Sanctioned Officials". July 12, 2023.
- ^ "PN1345 — Mark Toner — Department of State". United States Congress. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ "U.S. Ambassador to Liberia Mark Toner Presents His Credentials to President Joseph Boakai". FrontPage Africa. August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
