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Chiefs of Mission for United Kingdom
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
- John Adams (1735–1826)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, June 1, 1785–February 20, 1788
- Thomas Pinckney (1750–1828)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, August 9, 1792–July 27, 1796
- Rufus King (1755–1827)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, July 27, 1796–May 16, 1803
- James Monroe (1758–1831)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, August 17, 1803–October 7, 1807
- William Pinkney (1764–1822)
- Minister Plenipotentiary, April 27, 1808–May 7, 1811
- Jonathan Russell (1771–1832)
- Chargé d’Affaires, November 15, 1811–June 18, 1812
- John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 8, 1815–May 14, 1817
- Richard Rush (1780–1859)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, February 12, 1818–April 27, 1825
- Rufus King (1755–1827)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, November 11, 1825–June 16, 1826
- Albert Gallatin (1761–1849)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, September 1, 1826–October 4, 1827
- James Barbour (1775–1842)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, November 24, 1828–October 1, 1829
- Louis McLane (1786–1857)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 12, 1829–June 13, 1831
- Martin Van Buren (1782–1862)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, September 21, 1831–March 19, 1832
- Aaron Vail (1796–1878)
- Chargé d’Affaires, July 13, 1832–July 13, 1836
- Andrew Stevenson (1784–1857)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 13, 1836–October 21, 1841
- Edward Everett (1794–1865)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, December 16, 1841–August 8, 1845
- Louis McLane (1786–1857)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, August 8, 1845–August 18, 1849
- George Bancroft (1800–1891)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, November 12, 1846–August 31, 1849
- Abbott Lawrence (1792–1855)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 20, 1849–October 12, 1852
- Joseph Reed Ingersoll (1786–1868)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 16, 1852–August 23, 1853
- James Buchanan (1791–1868)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, August 23, 1853–March 15, 1856
- George Mifflin Dallas (1792–1864)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, April 4, 1856–May 16, 1861
- Charles Francis Adams (1807–1886)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 16, 1861–May 13, 1868
- Reverdy Johnson (1796–1876)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, September 14, 1868–May 13, 1869
- John Lothrop Motley (1814–1877)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 18, 1869–December 6, 1870
- Robert Cumming Schenck (1809–1890)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, June 23, 1871–March 3, 1876
- Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 11, 1876–December 22, 1877
- John Welsh (1805–1886)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, December 22, 1877–August 14, 1879
- James Russell Lowell (1819–1891)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, March 11, 1880–May 19, 1885
- Edward John Phelps (1822–1900)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 19, 1885–January 31, 1889
- Robert Todd Lincoln (1843–1926)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 25, 1889–May 4, 1893
- Thomas Francis Bayard (1828–1898)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 22, 1893–March 17, 1897
- John Milton Hay (1838–1905)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 3, 1897–September 12, 1898
- Joseph Hodges Choate (1832–1917)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 6, 1899–May 23, 1905
- Whitelaw Reid (1837–1912)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 5, 1905–December 15, 1912
- Walter Hines Page (1855–1918)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 30, 1913–October 3, 1918
- John William Davis (1873–1955)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 18, 1918–March 9, 1921
- George Brinton McClellan Harvey (1864–1928)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 12, 1921–November 3, 1923
- Frank Billings Kellogg (1856–1937)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 14, 1924–February 10, 1925
- Alanson Bigelow Houghton (1863–1941)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 27, 1925–March 28, 1929
- Charles Gates Dawes (1865–1951)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 15, 1929–December 30, 1931
- Andrew William Mellon (1855–1937)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 9, 1932–March 17, 1933
- Robert Worth Bingham (1871–1937)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 23, 1933–November 19, 1937
- Joseph Patrick Kennedy (1888–1969)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 8, 1938–October 22, 1940
- John Gilbert Winant (1889–1947)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 1, 1941–April 10, 1946
- William Averell Harriman (1891–1986)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 30, 1946–October 1, 1946
- Lewis Williams Douglas (1894–1974)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 25, 1947–November 16, 1950
- Walter Sherman Gifford (1885–1966)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 21, 1950–January 23, 1953
- Winthrop Williams Aldrich (1885–1974)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, February 20, 1953–February 1, 1957
- John Hay Whitney (1904–1982)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, February 28, 1957–January 14, 1961
- David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (1898–1977)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 17, 1961–March 20, 1969
- Walter H. Annenberg (1908–2002)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 29, 1969–October 30, 1974
- Elliot Lee Richardson (1920–1999)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 21, 1975–January 16, 1976
- Anne Legendre Armstrong (1927–2008)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 17, 1976–March 3, 1977
- Kingman Brewster Jr. (1919–1988)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 3, 1977–February 23, 1981
- John J. Louis Jr. (1925–1995)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 27, 1981–November 7, 1983
- Charles H. Price II (1931–2012)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 20, 1983–February 28, 1989
- Henry Edward Catto Jr. (1930–2011)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 17, 1989–March 13, 1991
- Raymond George Hardenbergh Seitz (1940–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 25, 1991–May 10, 1994
- William J. Crowe Jr. (1925–2007)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 2, 1994–September 20, 1997
- Philip Lader (1946–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 22, 1997–February 28, 2001
- William S. Farish (1939–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 1, 2001–June 11, 2004
- Robert H. Tuttle (1947–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 19, 2005–February 6, 2009
- Louis B. Susman (1937–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 13, 2009–April 3, 2013
- Matthew Winthrop Barzun (1970–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 4, 2013–January 18, 2017
- Robert Wood Johnson IV (?–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 8, 2017–
Other Nominees
- Andrew Stevenson (1784–1857)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Nomination of May 20, 1834, rejected by the Senate.
- Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (1817–1885)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Commissioned to London; declined appointment.
- George Brinton McClellan (1826–1885)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Not commissioned; nomination rejected by the Senate.
- Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton (1823–1877)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate. Commissioned to London; declined appointment.
- Richard Henry Dana Jr. (1815–1882)
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Not commissioned; nomination rejected by the Senate.
- Oliver Maxwell Gardner (1882–1947)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary: Took oath of office, but died in the United States before proceeding to post. A commission signed by the President during a recess of the Senate, which had not yet been dated and attested, was returned to the President by the Acting Secretary on December 6, 1946, Gardner having declined a recess appointment. Recommissioned on January 13, 1947.
- Walter Sherman Gifford (1885–1966)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate. Did not serve under this appointment.