South Africa
- Chiefs of Mission - People - Department History
Chiefs of Mission for South Africa
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
- Ralph James Totten (1877–1949)
- Minister Resident/Consul General, February 18, 1930–September 8, 1930
- Ralph James Totten (1877–1949)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, September 8, 1930–April 12, 1937
- Leo John Keena (1878–1967)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 22, 1937–August 13, 1942
- Lincoln MacVeagh (1890–1972)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 21, 1942–November 21, 1943
- Thomas Holcomb Jr. (1879–1965)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 14, 1944–May 30, 1948
- North Winship (1885–1968)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 11, 1948–March 23, 1949
- North Winship (1885–1968)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 23, 1949–December 20, 1949
- John George Erhardt (1889–1951)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 4, 1950–February 18, 1951
- Waldemar John Gallman (1899–1980)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 18, 1951–August 15, 1954
- Edward Thompson Wailes (1903–1969)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 29, 1954–August 11, 1956
- Henry Alfred Byroade (1913–1993)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 9, 1956–January 24, 1959
- Philip Kingsland Crowe (1908–1976)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 22, 1959–April 6, 1961
- Joseph Charles Satterthwaite (1900–1990)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 22, 1961–November 17, 1965
- William Manning Rountree (1917–1995)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 8, 1966–June 5, 1970
- John Gavin Hurd (1914–2001)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 10, 1970–April 7, 1975
- William Garton Bowdler (1924–2016)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 14, 1975–April 19, 1978
- William Brockway Edmondson (1927–2013)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 5, 1978–July 22, 1981
- Herman W. Nickel (1928–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 20, 1982–October 4, 1986
- Edward Joseph Perkins (1928–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 27, 1986–May 22, 1989
- William Lacy Swing (1934–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 8, 1989–July 5, 1992
- Princeton Nathan Lyman (1935–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 21, 1992–December 14, 1995
- James A. Joseph (1935–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, February 27, 1996–November 7, 1999
- Delano Eugene Lewis Jr. (1938–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 21, 2000–June 22, 2001
- Cameron R. Hume (1947–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 29, 2001–July 28, 2004
- Jendayi Elizabeth Frazer (1961–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 10, 2004–August 26, 2005
- Eric M. Bost (1953–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 15, 2006–January 20, 2009
- Donald Henry Gips (1960–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 31, 2009–January 2, 2013
- Patrick Hubert Gaspard (1967–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 16, 2013–December 16, 2016
- Jessica Lapenn (?–)
- Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, December 16, 2016–September 13, 2019
- Lana J. Marks (?–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 9, 2019–
Other Nominees
None