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Chiefs of Mission for Spain
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
- William Carmichael Jr. (?–1795)
- Chargé d’Affaires, April 20, 1790–September 5, 1794
- William Short (1759–1849)
- Minister Resident, September 7, 1794–November 1, 1795
- David Humphreys (1752–1818)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, September 10, 1797–December 28, 1801
- Charles Pinckney (1757–1824)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, June 6, 1801–October 25, 1804
- George William Erving (1769–1850)
- Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, October 1805–February 1810
- George William Erving (1769–1850)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, August 24, 1816–May 15, 1819
- John Forsyth (1780–1841)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, May 18, 1819–March 2, 1823
- Hugh Nelson (1768–1836)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, December 4, 1823–July 10, 1825
- Alexander Hill Everett (1790–1847)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, September 4, 1825–August 1, 1829
- Cornelius Peter Van Ness (1782–1852)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, December 9, 1829–December 21, 1836
- John Henry Eaton (1790–1856)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, March 16, 1836–May 1, 1840
- Aaron Vail (1796–1878)
- Chargé d’Affaires, November 5, 1840–August 1, 1842
- Washington Irving (1783–1859)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, August 1, 1842–July 29, 1846
- Romulus Mitchell Saunders (1791–1867)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 31, 1846–September 24, 1849
- Daniel Moreau Barringer (1806–1873)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 24, 1849–September 4, 1853
- Pierre Soule (1801–1870)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 24, 1853–February 1, 1855
- Augustus Caesar Dodge (1812–1883)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 17, 1855–March 12, 1859
- William Preston (1861–1887)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, March 12, 1859–May 24, 1861
- Carl Schurz (1829–1906)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 13, 1861–December 18, 1861
- Gustavus Koerner (1809–1896)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, November 4, 1862–July 20, 1864
- John Parker Hale (1806–1873)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, September 30, 1865–July 29, 1869
- Daniel Edgar Sickles (1825–1914)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 29, 1869–January 31, 1874
- Caleb Cushing (1800–1879)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 30, 1874–April 9, 1877
- James Russell Lowell (1819–1891)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, August 18, 1877–March 2, 1880
- Lucius Fairchild (1831–1896)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, March 31, 1880–December 20, 1881
- Hannibal Hamlin (1809–1891)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, December 20, 1881–October 17, 1882
- John Watson Foster (1836–1917)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 16, 1883–August 28, 1885
- Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry (1825–1903)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, December 22, 1885–July 5, 1888
- Perry Belmont (1851–1947)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, February 13, 1889–May 1, 1889
- Thomas Witherell Palmer (1830–1913)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 17, 1889–April 19, 1890
- Edward Burd Grubb (1841–1917)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, December 23, 1890–May 26, 1892
- Archibald Loudon Snowden (1837–1912)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 6, 1892–June 3, 1893
- Hannis Taylor (1851–1922)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 1, 1893–September 13, 1897
- Stewart Lyndon Woodford (1835–1913)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, September 13, 1897–April 21, 1898
- Bellamy Storer (1847–1922)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 16, 1899–December 10, 1902
- Arthur Sherburne Hardy (1847–1930)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, March 2, 1903–May 1, 1905
- William Miller Collier (1867–1956)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 15, 1905–June 9, 1909
- Henry Clay Ide (1844–1921)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 9, 1909–July 8, 1913
- Joseph Edward Willard (1865–1924)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 31, 1913–July 7, 1921
- Cyrus E. Woods (1861–1938)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 14, 1921–April 18, 1923
- Alexander Pollock Moore (1867–1930)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 16, 1923–December 20, 1925
- Ogden Haggerty Hammond (1869–1956)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 26, 1926–October 13, 1929
- Irwin Boyle Laughlin (1871–1941)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 24, 1929–April 12, 1933
- Claude Gernade Bowers (1878–1958)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 1, 1933–February 2, 1939
- Harrison Freeman Matthews (1899–1986)
- Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, April 13, 1939–
- Alexander Wilbourne Weddell (1876–1948)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 15, 1939–February 7, 1942
- Carlton Joseph Huntley Hayes (1882–1964)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 9, 1942–January 18, 1945
- Norman Armour (1887–1982)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 24, 1945–December 1, 1945
- Philip Wilson Bonsal (1903–1995)
- Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, March 1946–June 1947
- Paul Trauger Culbertson (1897–1968)
- Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, June 1947–December 1950
- Stanton Griffis (1887–1974)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 1, 1951–January 28, 1952
- Lincoln MacVeagh (1890–1972)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 27, 1952–March 4, 1953
- James Clement Dunn (1890–1979)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 9, 1953–February 9, 1955
- John Davis Lodge (1903–1985)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 24, 1955–April 13, 1961
- Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr. (1896–1961)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 25, 1961–October 12, 1961
- Robert Forbes Woodward (1908–2001)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 10, 1962–February 1, 1965
- Angier Biddle Duke (1915–1995)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 1, 1965–March 30, 1968
- Robert Ferdinand Wagner Jr. (1910–1991)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 4, 1968–March 7, 1969
- Robert Charles Hill (1917–1978)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 12, 1969–January 12, 1972
- Horacio Rivero Jr. (1910–2000)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 11, 1972–November 26, 1974
- Wells Stabler (1919–2009)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 13, 1975–May 4, 1978
- Terence Alphonso Todman (1926–2014)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 20, 1978–August 8, 1983
- Thomas Ostrom Enders (1931–1996)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 15, 1983–July 6, 1986
- Reginald Bartholomew (1936–2012)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 17, 1986–March 12, 1989
- Joseph Zappala (1933–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 16, 1989–June 4, 1992
- Richard Goodwin Capen Jr. (1934–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 8, 1992–February 17, 1993
- Richard Newton Gardner (1927–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 4, 1993–July 12, 1997
- Edward L. Romero (1934–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 30, 1998–June 1, 2001
- George L. Argyros Sr. (1937–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 13, 2001–November 21, 2004
- Eduardo Aguirre (1946–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 29, 2005–January 20, 2009
- Alan D. Solomont (1949–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 27, 2010–June 28, 2013
- James Costos (1963–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 24, 2013–January 18, 2017
- Richard D. Buchan III (?–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 18, 2018–
Other Nominees
- John Jay (1745–1829)
- Minister Plenipotentiary: Proceeded to post, but was not formally received at court; left post about May 20, 1782.
- James Bowdoin III (1752–1811)
- Minister Plenipotentiary: Did not proceed to post.
- William Taylor Barry (1784–1835)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Took oath of office, but died en route to post. Commissioned during a recess of the Senate.
- John Cabell Breckinridge (1821–1875)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Declined appointment.
- Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810–1903)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Declined appointment.
- William Starke Rosecrans (1819–1898)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Not commissioned; nomination tabled by the Senate.
- Henry Shelton Sanford (1823–1891)
- Minister Resident: Not commissioned; nomination not confirmed by the Senate.
- Joseph Edward Willard (1865–1924)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Took oath of office, but did not proceed to post under this appointment.
- Ellis Ormsbee Briggs (1899–1976)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary: Not commissioned; nomination withdrawn before the Senate acted upon it.
- Frank Edward McKinney (1904–1974)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary: Took oath of office, but did not proceed to post under this appointment.
- Peter Magnus Flanigan (1923–2013)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary: Not commissioned; nomination of September 17, 1974, not acted upon by the Senate.