Holy See
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Chiefs of Mission for Holy See
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
- Jacob L. Martin (?–1848)
- Chargé d’Affaires, August 19, 1848–August 26, 1848
- Lewis Cass Jr. (1814–1878)
- Chargé d’Affaires, November 19, 1849–November 9, 1854
- Lewis Cass Jr. (1814–1878)
- Minister Resident, November 9, 1854–November 27, 1858
- John Potter Stockton (1826–1900)
- Minister Resident, November 27, 1858–May 23, 1861
- Alexander Williams Randall (1819–1872)
- Minister Resident, June 6, 1862–August 4, 1862
- Richard Milford Blatchford (1798–1875)
- Minister Resident, November 26, 1862–May 20, 1863
- Rufus King (1814–1876)
- Minister Resident, January 8, 1864–August 17, 1867
- Myron Charles Taylor (1874–1959)
- Personal Representative of the President, December 23, 1939–January 18, 1950
- Harold Hilgard Tittmann Jr. (1893–1980)
- Chargé d’Affaires, December 29, 1941–July 8, 1944
- Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1902–1985)
- Personal Representative of the President, June 5, 1970–July 6, 1977
- David Walters (1917–)
- Personal Representative of the President, July 6, 1977–August 17, 1978
- Robert Ferdinand Wagner Jr. (1910–1991)
- Personal Representative of the President, November 28, 1978–January 16, 1981
- William A. Wilson (1914–2009)
- Personal Representative of the President, February 11, 1981–April 9, 1984
- William A. Wilson (1914–2009)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 9, 1984–July 18, 1986
- Frank J. Shakespeare Jr. (1925–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 8, 1987–July 28, 1989
- Thomas Patrick Melady (1927–2014)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 3, 1989–March 1, 1993
- Raymond Leo Flynn (1939–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 2, 1993–September 20, 1997
- Corinne Clairborne Boggs (1916–2013)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 16, 1997–March 1, 2001
- James (Jim) Nicholson (1938–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 13, 2001–January 31, 2005
- Francis Rooney (1953–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 12, 2005–January 10, 2008
- Mary Ann Glendon (1938–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, February 29, 2008–January 19, 2009
- Miguel Humberto Diaz (1963–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 2, 2009–November 10, 2012
- Kenneth Francis Hackett (1947–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 21, 2013–January 20, 2017
- Callista L. Gingrich (1966–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 22, 2017–January 20, 2021
Other Nominees
- Lewis Cass Jr. (1814–1878)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Nomination of February 25, 1856, withdrawn before the Senate acted upon it. Nominated to the Pontifical States.
- Rufus King (1814–1876)
- Minister Resident: Declined appointment.
- David Armstrong (1836–1918)
- Chargé d’Affaires: Not commissioned; letter of credence dated April 30, 1869, but later cancelled.
- Mark Wayne Clark (1896–1984)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary: Not commissioned; nomination of October 20, 1951, not confirmed by the Senate.