Ambassador of the
United States of America to the
Court of St James's
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of the United States Ambassador
Incumbent
Jane D. Hartley
since July 19, 2022
U.S. Department of State
Embassy of the United States, London
StyleHis or Her Excellency (formal)
Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports toUnited States Secretary of State
ResidenceWinfield House
SeatLondon, United Kingdom
AppointerPresident of the United States
with the advice and consent of the Senate
Term lengthAt the pleasure of the President
Inaugural holderJohn Adams
(as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James's)
Formation1785
WebsiteU.S. Embassy – London

The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom (known formally as, The Ambassador of the United States of America to the Court of St James's)[1] is the official representative of the president of the United States and the American government to the monarch (Court of St. James's) and government of the United Kingdom.[2] The position is held by Jane D. Hartley, who presented her credentials to Queen Elizabeth II on July 19, 2022.[3]

The position is regarded as one of the most prestigious posts in the United States Foreign Service due to the "special relationship" between the United States and United Kingdom.[4] The ambassadorship has been held by various notable politicians, including five who would later become president: John Adams, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan. However, the modern tendency of American presidents (of both parties) is to appoint keen political fundraisers from previous presidential campaigns, despite the importance and prestige of the office.[5]

The ambassador and executive staff work at the American Embassy in Nine Elms, London. The official residence of the ambassador is Winfield House in Regent's Park.[1]

Duties

The ambassador's main duty is to present U.S. policies to the government of the United Kingdom and its people, as well as report British policies and views to the federal government of the United States. The ambassador serves as a primary channel of communication between the two nations and plays an important role in treaty negotiations.

The ambassador is the head of the United States' consular service in the United Kingdom. As well as directing diplomatic activity in support of trade, the ambassador is ultimately responsible for visa services and for the provision of consular support to American citizens in the UK and oversees cultural relations between the two countries.

List of U.S. chiefs of mission to the Court of St James's

Ministers (1785–1811)

  Independent

  Democratic-Republican

  Democrat

  Whig

  Republican

John Adams is referred to as the first "ambassador".[6] He is also referred to as the first "minister plenipotentiary".[7] Plenipotentiary means "having full power"; a minister that has power to act for their country in all matters.[8]

Name Portrait Appointment Presentation Termination Appointer Notes
John Adams February 24, 1785 June 1, 1785 February 20, 1788   Congress Second president of the United States[lower-alpha 1]
Thomas Pinckney January 12, 1792 August 9, 1792 July 27, 1796   George Washington
Rufus King May 20, 1796 July 27, 1796 May 16, 1803
James Monroe 1803 August 17, 1803 October 7, 1807   Thomas Jefferson Fifth president of the United States
William Pinkney February 26, 1808 April 27, 1808 May 7, 1811
Jonathan Russell July 27, 1811 November 15, 1811 June 18, 1812 James Madison [lower-alpha 2]

Ministers (1815–1893)

Diplomatic relations with Great Britain were restored after the War of 1812. The Congress of Vienna (1815) established a uniform system of diplomatic rank. Under that system, the highest rank of "ambassador" was a personal representative of a sovereign, and the next rank of "minister", represented a government. As a republic, the United States maintained diplomatic relations with Great Britain at the rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. The rank was colloquially known as Minister, and the position continued to be referred to as "United States Minister to Great Britain".

Name Portrait Appointment Presentation Termination Appointer Notes
John Quincy Adams April 28, 1814 June 8, 1815 May 14, 1817   James Madison Sixth president of the United States
Richard Rush 1817 February 12, 1818 April 27, 1825 James Monroe
Rufus King May 5, 1825 November 11, 1825 June 16, 1826 John Quincy Adams
Albert Gallatin May 10, 1826 September 1, 1826 October 4, 1827
William Beach Lawrence Nov 23, 1827 November 24, 1828 [10][11]
James Barbour May 23, 1828 November 24, 1828 October 1, 1829
Louis McLane 1829 October 12, 1829 June 13, 1831   Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren August 8, 1831 September 21, 1831 March 19, 1832 Eighth president of the United States
Aaron Vail July 13, 1832 July 13, 1836 [lower-alpha 3]
Andrew Stevenson March 16, 1836 July 13, 1836 October 21, 1841
Edward Everett 1841 December 16, 1841 August 8, 1845   John Tyler
Louis McLane 1845 August 8, 1845 August 18, 1846   James K. Polk
George Bancroft September 9, 1846 November 12, 1846 August 31, 1849
Abbott Lawrence August 20, 1849 October 20, 1849 October 12, 1852   Zachary Taylor
Joseph R. Ingersoll August 21, 1852 October 16, 1852 August 23, 1853 Millard Fillmore
James Buchanan April 11, 1853 August 23, 1853 March 15, 1856   Franklin Pierce Fifteenth president of the United States
George M. Dallas February 4, 1856 April 4, 1856 May 16, 1861
Charles Francis Adams Sr. March 20, 1861 May 16, 1861 May 13, 1868   Abraham Lincoln
Reverdy Johnson June 12, 1868 September 14, 1868 May 13, 1869   Andrew Johnson
John Lothrop Motley April 13, 1869 June 18, 1869 December 6, 1870   Ulysses S. Grant
Robert C. Schenck December 22, 1870 June 23, 1871 March 3, 1876
Edwards Pierrepont May 22, 1876 July 11, 1876 December 22, 1877
John Welsh November 9, 1877 December 22, 1877 August 14, 1879 Rutherford B. Hayes
James Russell Lowell January 26, 1880 March 11, 1880 May 19, 1885
Edward John Phelps March 23, 1885 May 19, 1885 January 31, 1889   Grover Cleveland
Robert Todd Lincoln March 30, 1889 May 25, 1889 May 4, 1893   Benjamin Harrison

Ambassadors (1893–present)

Although France became a republic in 1870, the country continued to exchange ambassadors with other Great Powers. In 1893, the United States followed the French precedent and upgraded its relations with other Great Powers to the ambassadorial level. The United States Legation in London became the United States Embassy, and the United States Minister to Great Britain became the United States Ambassador to Great Britain.

Name Portrait Appointment Presentation Termination Appointer Notes
Thomas F. Bayard 1893 June 22, 1893 March 17, 1897   Grover Cleveland
John Hay 1897 May 3, 1897 September 12, 1898   William McKinley
Joseph Hodges Choate January 19, 1899 March 6, 1899 May 23, 1905
Whitelaw Reid March 8, 1905 June 5, 1905 December 15, 1912 Theodore Roosevelt †
Walter Hines Page April 21, 1913 May 30, 1913 October 3, 1918   Woodrow Wilson
John W. Davis November 21, 1918 December 18, 1918 March 9, 1921
George Brinton McClellan Harvey April 16, 1921 May 12, 1921 November 3, 1923   Warren G. Harding
Frank B. Kellogg 1924 January 14, 1924 February 10, 1925 Calvin Coolidge
Alanson B. Houghton February 24, 1925 April 27, 1925 March 28, 1929
Charles G. Dawes April 16, 1929 June 15, 1929 December 30, 1931 Herbert Hoover
Andrew W. Mellon February 5, 1932 April 9, 1932 March 17, 1933
Robert Worth Bingham March 23, 1933 May 23, 1933 November 19, 1937   Franklin D. Roosevelt
Joseph P. Kennedy January 17, 1938 March 8, 1938 October 22, 1940
John G. Winant February 11, 1941 March 1, 1941 April 10, 1946
W. Averell Harriman April 2, 1946 April 30, 1946 October 1, 1946 Harry S. Truman
Lewis W. Douglas March 6, 1947 March 25, 1947 November 16, 1950
Walter S. Gifford December 12, 1950 December 21, 1950 January 23, 1953
Winthrop W. Aldrich February 2, 1953 February 20, 1953 February 1, 1957   Dwight D. Eisenhower
John Hay Whitney February 11, 1957 February 28, 1957 January 14, 1961
David K. E. Bruce February 22, 1961 March 17, 1961 March 20, 1969   John F. Kennedy
Walter Annenberg March 14, 1969 April 29, 1969 October 30, 1974   Richard Nixon
Elliot Richardson February 20, 1975 March 21, 1975 January 16, 1976 Gerald Ford
Anne Armstrong January 29, 1976 March 17, 1976 March 3, 1977
Kingman Brewster, Jr. April 29, 1977 June 3, 1977 February 23, 1981   Jimmy Carter
John J. Louis, Jr. May 7, 1981 May 27, 1981 November 7, 1983   Ronald Reagan
Charles H. Price II November 11, 1983 December 20, 1983 February 28, 1989
Henry E. Catto, Jr. April 14, 1989 May 17, 1989 March 13, 1991 George H. W. Bush
Raymond G. H. Seitz April 25, 1991 June 25, 1991 May 10, 1994
William J. Crowe, Jr. May 13, 1994 June 2, 1994 September 20, 1997   Bill Clinton
Philip Lader August 1, 1997 September 22, 1997 February 28, 2001
William S. Farish III July 12, 2001 August 1, 2001 June 11, 2004   George W. Bush
Robert H. Tuttle July 9, 2005 October 19, 2005 February 6, 2009
Louis Susman July 13, 2009 October 13, 2009 April 3, 2013   Barack Obama
Matthew Barzun August 6, 2013 December 4, 2013 January 18, 2017 [lower-alpha 4]
Lewis Lukens January 18, 2017 January 18, 2017 November 8, 2017   Donald Trump Chargé d'Affaires[14]
Woody Johnson January 19, 2017 November 8, 2017 January 20, 2021 [15]
Yael Lempert January 20, 2021 January 20, 2021 August 1, 2021   Joe Biden Chargé d'Affaires[3]
Philip Reeker July 15, 2021 August 1, 2021 July 19, 2022   Chargé d'Affaires[16]
Jane D. Hartley May 25, 2022 July 19, 2022  

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ John Adams became so frustrated with his cool reception at the court that he closed the legation in 1788 and the post remained vacant for four years.[9]
  2. ↑ From 1811 to the outbreak of the War of 1812, chargé d'affaires Johnathan Russell was the chief United States officer in London. The United States severed relations with the United Kingdom on the outbreak of the War of 1812; normal relations were restored in 1815.[9]
  3. ↑ Chargé d'affaires
  4. ↑ Lewis Lukens became the chargé d'affaires.[12][13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ambassador's Residence - Winfield House". uk.usembassy.gov. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Recent Ambassadors to the United Kingdom". uk.usembassy.gov. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Ambassador Jane Hartley presents her credentials to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom. July 20, 2022. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  4. ↑ Collier, Peter; Horowitz, David (2002). The Kennedys: An American Drama. p. 6.
  5. ↑ Farrell, Henry (November 28, 2019). "U.S. ambassadorships are destination tourism for the mega-rich". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  6. ↑ "John Adams - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com". HISTORY.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Eyewitness". www.archives.gov. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Definition of "Plenipotentiary"". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  9. 1 2 "United Kingdom". Diplomatic History of the United States. US Department of State. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  10. ↑ House Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents: 13th Congress, 2d Session-49th Congress, 1st Session. United States Congress.
  11. ↑ Officers and Graduates of Columbia College: Originally the College of the Province of New York Known as King's College. General Catalogue, 1754-1894. New York City: Columbia College. 1894.
  12. ↑ Davis, Julie Hirschfeld (January 5, 2017). "In Break With Precedent, Obama Envoys Are Denied Extensions Past Inauguration Day". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ "Biography of Ambassador Matthew W. Barzun". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Biography of Ambassador Matthew W. Barzun". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  15. ↑ Borger, Julian (January 19, 2017). "New York Jets owner Woody Johnson to be US ambassador to UK". The Guardian. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Biden selects Jane Hartley as ambassador to U.K. (July 16, 2021)". The Washington Post.

Further reading

  • Holmes, Alison R.; Rofe, J. Simon (2012). The Embassy in Grosvenor Square: American Ambassadors to the United Kingdom, 1938–2008. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/9781137295576. ISBN 978-1-137-29557-6.
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