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Chiefs of Mission for France
NOTE TO READERS
Updates to the Principal Officers and Chiefs of Mission database are currently suspended. For information about the Department’s current and recent leadership, we recommend visiting the Department of State homepage’s Biographies of Senior Officials and List of U.S. Ambassadors.
Notice posted on January 12, 2024.
Last
updated March 14, 2024.
Chiefs of Mission
- Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, March 23, 1779–May 17, 1785
- Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, May 17, 1785–September 26, 1789
- William Short (1759–1849)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, June 14, 1790–May 15, 1792
- Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, June 3, 1792–April 9, 1794
- James Monroe (1758–1831)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, August 15, 1794–December 9, 1796
- Robert R. Livingston (1746–1813)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, December 6, 1801–November 18, 1804
- John Armstrong (1755–1843)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, November 18, 1804–September 14, 1810
- Jonathan Russell (1771–1832)
- Chargé d’Affaires, November 5, 1810–November 17, 1811
- Joel Barlow (1754–1812)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, November 17, 1811–December 26, 1812
- William Harris Crawford (1772–1834)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, December 14, 1813–April 30, 1815
- Albert Gallatin (1761–1849)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 16, 1816–May 16, 1823
- James Brown (1766–1835)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, April 13, 1824–June 28, 1829
- William Cabell Rives (1792–1868)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 25, 1829–September 27, 1832
- Levett Harris (?–)
- Chargé d’Affaires, April 20, 1833–September 30, 1833
- Edward Livingston (1764–1836)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, September 30, 1833–April 29, 1835
- Thomas Pennant Barton (1803–1869)
- Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, –November 8, 1835
- Lewis Cass (1782–1866)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, December 1, 1836–November 12, 1842
- William Rufus de Vane King (1786–1853)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 1, 1844–September 15, 1846
- Richard Rush (1780–1859)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 31, 1847–October 8, 1849
- William Cabell Rives (1792–1868)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, November 8, 1849–May 12, 1853
- John Young Mason (1799–1859)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, January 22, 1854–October 3, 1859
- Charles James Faulkner (1806–1884)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, March 4, 1860–May 12, 1861
- William Lewis Dayton (1807–1864)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 19, 1861–December 1, 1864
- John Bigelow (1817–1911)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, April 23, 1865–December 23, 1866
- John Adams Dix (1798–1879)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, December 23, 1866–May 23, 1869
- Elihu Benjamin Washburne (1816–1887)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, March 23, 1869–September 5, 1877
- Edward Follansbee Noyes (1832–1890)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, September 5, 1877–August 5, 1881
- Levi Parsons Morton (1824–1920)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, August 5, 1881–May 14, 1885
- Robert Milligan McLane (1815–1898)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 14, 1885–May 20, 1889
- Whitelaw Reid (1837–1912)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 21, 1889–March 25, 1892
- Thomas Jefferson Coolidge (1831–1920)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 10, 1892–May 4, 1893
- James Biddle Eustis (1834–1899)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 6, 1893–May 24, 1897
- Horace Porter (1837–1921)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 26, 1897–May 2, 1905
- Robert Sanderson McCormick (1849–1919)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 2, 1905–March 2, 1907
- Henry White (1850–1927)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 23, 1907–November 3, 1909
- Robert Bacon (1860–1919)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 31, 1909–April 19, 1912
- Myron Timothy Herrick (1854–1929)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 29, 1912–November 28, 1914
- William Graves Sharp (1859–1922)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 4, 1914–April 14, 1919
- Hugh Campbell Wallace (1863–1931)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 22, 1919–July 5, 1921
- Myron Timothy Herrick (1854–1929)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 15, 1921–March 31, 1929
- Walter Evans Edge (1873–1956)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 18, 1929–April 13, 1933
- Jesse Isidor Straus (1872–1936)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 8, 1933–August 5, 1936
- William Christian Bullitt (1891–1967)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 13, 1936–July 11, 1940
- William Daniel Leahy (1875–1959)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 8, 1941–May 1, 1942
- Somerville Pinkney Tuck Jr. (1891–1967)
- Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, –November 8, 1942
- Jefferson Caffery (1886–1974)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 30, 1944–May 13, 1949
- David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (1898–1977)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 17, 1949–March 10, 1952
- James Clement Dunn (1890–1979)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 27, 1952–March 2, 1953
- Clarence Douglas Dillon (1909–2003)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 13, 1953–January 28, 1957
- Amory Houghton (1899–1981)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 17, 1957–January 19, 1961
- James Maurice Gavin (1907–1990)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 21, 1961–September 26, 1962
- Charles Eustis Bohlen (1904–1974)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 27, 1962–February 9, 1968
- Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (1915–2011)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 25, 1968–March 25, 1970
- Arthur Kittredge Watson (1919–1974)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 6, 1970–October 30, 1972
- John Nichol Irwin II (1913–2000)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 23, 1973–October 20, 1974
- Kenneth Rush (1910–1994)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 21, 1974–March 14, 1977
- Arthur Adair Hartman (1926–2015)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 7, 1977–October 14, 1981
- Evan Griffith Galbraith (1928–2008)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 2, 1981–July 15, 1985
- Joe M. Rodgers (1933–2008)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 20, 1985–January 8, 1989
- Walter Joseph Patrick Curley Jr. (1922–2016)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 6, 1989–February 11, 1993
- Pamela C. Harriman (1920–1997)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 30, 1993–February 5, 1997
- Felix Rohatyn (1929–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 11, 1997–December 7, 2000
- Howard H. Leach (1930–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 4, 2001–April 16, 2005
- Craig Roberts Stapleton (1945–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 25, 2005–January 29, 2009
- Charles Hammerman Rivkin (1962–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 2, 2009–November 20, 2013
- Jane Dorothy Hartley (1947–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 31, 2014–January 29, 2017
- Jamie D. McCourt (?–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 18, 2017–
Other Nominees
- Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746–1825)
- Minister Plenipotentiary: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate. Proceeded to post, but was not received by the Directory; left post on February 5, 1797. Nomination was confirmed by the Senate, but no record has been found of a new commission following confirmation.
- William Vans Murray (1760–1803)
- Minister Plenipotentiary: Not commissioned; nomination superseded by a nomination of Murray and two others to serve on a joint commission.
- James Asheton Bayard (1767–1815)
- Minister Plenipotentiary: Did not serve under this appointment.
- Henry Alexander Wise (1806–1876)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Not commissioned; nomination rejected by the Senate.
- Charles Jared Ingersoll (1782–1862)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Not commissioned; nomination rejected by the Senate.
- James Biddle Eustis (1834–1899)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Took oath of office, but did not proceed to post in this capacity.