United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Ambassador of the United States to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Tara Feret Erath
Chargé d'Affaires a.i.
since January 20, 2017
Nominator The President of the United States
Inaugural holder Theodore Sedgwick Fay
as Minister Resident
Formation March 16, 1853
Website bern.usembassy.gov

This is a list of United States Ambassadors to the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein.[1]

History

Since 1997, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland has also been accredited to the Principality of Liechtenstein. Appointed on February 10, 1997, Ambassador Madeleine M. Kunin served as the first United States Ambassador to Liechtenstein.[2] She presented her credentials to Liechtenstein on March 14, 1997, which marked the beginning of the United States' diplomatic relations with the country.[3] (Although the United States executed its first treaty with Liechtenstein in 1926, at the time Liechtenstein was represented by Switzerland).[4]

Before 1997 it was understood that the rights of a U.S.–Swiss agreement also extended to citizens of Liechtenstein because it had yielded control of its foreign affairs to Switzerland. At the end of the 20th century, however, it "began pursuing independent membership in international organizations".[4]

Political appointees

The position is generally held by a political appointee rather than a career Foreign Service Officer (FSO); in the United States ambassadors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.[5] According to the American Foreign Service Association, only two career FSOs since 1960 have been appointed to the Swiss and Liechtenstein ambassadorship (both times were in the 1970s), whereas the remaining twenty ambassadors were political appointees, typically those known as "campaign bundlers" who raise large sums of money for presidential campaigns.[6]

List of Ambassadors

Name State of residency Background Title Appointment Presentation of credentials Termination of mission
Theodore Sedgwick Fay Massachusetts Minister Resident Mar 16, 1853 Jun 29, 1853 Presented recall, Jul 1, 1861
George G. Fogg New Hampshire Minister Resident Mar 28, 1861 Jul 1, 1861 Presented recall, Oct 16, 1865
George Harrington Georgia Minister Resident Jul 7, 1865 Oct 16, 1865 Presented recall, Jul 20, 1869
Horace Rublee Wisconsin Minister Resident Apr 20, 1869 Jul 20, 1869 Presented recall, Sep 7, 1876
Horace Rublee Wisconsin Chargé d'affaires Aug 15, 1876 Sep 7, 1876 Left post Oct 1, 1876
George Schneider Illinois Chargé d'affaires May 1, 1877
Nicholas Fish II New York Chargé d'affaires Jun 20, 1877 Aug 7, 1877 Presented recall, Aug 24, 1881
Michael J. Cramer Kentucky Chargé d'affaires May 11, 1881 Aug 25, 1881 Promoted to Minister Resident/Consul General
Michael J. Cramer Kentucky Minister Resident/Consul General Jul 13, 1882 Aug 14, 1882 Presented recall, Jul 9, 1885
Boyd Winchester Kentucky Minister Resident/Consul General May 7, 1885 Jul 9, 1885 Presented recall, May 24, 1889
John D. Washburn Massachusetts Minister Resident/Consul General Mar 12, 1889 May 24, 1889 Promoted to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
John D. Washburn Massachusetts Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Jul 30, 1890 Dec 13, 1890 Left post Aug 10, 1892
Person Colby Cheney New Hampshire Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Dec 13, 1892 Jan 26, 1893 Presented recall, Jan 29, 1893
James Broadhead Missouri Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Apr 7, 1893 Jul 5, 1893 Appointment terminated, Nov 1, 1895
John L. Peak Missouri Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Nov 18, 1895 Feb 15, 1896 Presented recall, Aug 9, 1897
John George Alexander Leishman Pennsylvania Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Jun 9, 1897 Aug 9, 1897 Presented recall, Feb 20, 1901
Arthur Sherburne Hardy New Hampshire Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Dec 20, 1900 Apr 3, 1901 Presented recall, Jan 29, 1903
Charles Page Bryan Illinois Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Sep 26, 1902
Charles Page Bryan Illinois Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Dec 8, 1902
David Jayne Hill New York Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Jan 7, 1903 Feb 24, 1903 Presented recall, Jul 1, 1905
Brutus J. Clay II Kentucky Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Mar 8, 1905 Jul 1, 1905 Superseded, Mar 1, 1910
Laurits S. Swenson Minnesota Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Dec 21, 1909 Mar 1, 1910 Presented recall, May 15, 1911
Henry Sherman Boutell Illinois Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Apr 24, 1911 May 23, 1911 Presented recall, Jul 31, 1913
Pleasant A. Stovall Georgia Non-career appointee Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Jun 21, 1913 Aug 23, 1913 Left post Dec 14, 1919
Hampson Gary Texas Non-career appointee Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Apr 7, 1920 Jun 3, 1920 Left post about Mar 4, 1921
Joseph Grew Massachusetts Foreign Service Officer Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Sep 24, 1921 Nov 1, 1921 Left post Mar 22, 1924
Hugh S. Gibson California Foreign Service officer Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Mar 18, 1924 May 19, 1924 Presented recall, Apr 29, 1927
Hugh R. Wilson Illinois Foreign Service officer Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Feb 26, 1927 Jun 11, 1927 Left post Jul 8, 1937
Leland B. Harrison Illinois Foreign Service officer Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Jul 13, 1937 Sep 10, 1937 Left post Oct 14, 1947
John Carter Vincent Georgia Foreign Service officer Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Jul 24, 1947 Oct 21, 1947 Left post Jun 9, 1951
Richard Cunningham Patterson, Jr. New York Non-career appointee Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Mar 22, 1951 Jun 27, 1951 Left post Apr 14, 1953
Frances E. Willis California Foreign Service officer Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Jul 20, 1953 Oct 9, 1953 Left post May 5, 1957
Henry J. Taylor Virginia Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 9, 1957 May 31, 1957 Left post Feb 28, 1961
Robert M. McKinney New Mexico Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Jun 22, 1961 Jul 25, 1961 Left post Sep 8, 1963
W. True Davis, Jr. Missouri Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Oct 2, 1963 Nov 29, 1963 Left post Sep 3, 1965
John S. Hayes Maryland Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Sep 19, 1966 Nov 18, 1966 Left post May 20, 1969
Shelby Cullom Davis New York Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 13, 1969 Jul 17, 1969 Left post Apr 10, 1975
Peter H. Dominick Colorado Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Feb 20, 1975 Apr 25, 1975 Left post Jul 10, 1975
Nathaniel Davis New Jersey Foreign Service officer Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Nov 20, 1975 Jan 9, 1976 Left post Jul 31, 1977
Marvin L. Warner Ohio Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Jul 11, 1977 Sep 13, 1977 Left post Jul 10, 1979
Richard David Vine California Foreign Service officer Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Sep 20, 1979 Oct 19, 1979 Left post Sep 1, 1981
Faith Whittlesey Pennsylvania Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Sep 28, 1981 Oct 23, 1981 Left post Feb 28, 1983
John Davis Lodge Connecticut Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Mar 18, 1983 May 19, 1983 Left post Apr 30, 1985
Faith Whittlesey Pennsylvania Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Apr 4, 1985 May 31, 1985 Left post Jun 14, 1988
Philip D. Winn Colorado Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Jul 11, 1988 Aug 19, 1988 Left post Aug 5, 1989
Joseph Bernard Gildenhorn District of Columbia Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Aug 3, 1989 Aug 23, 1989 Left post Mar 1, 1993
The following officers served as Chargés d'affaires ad interim (1993–94): John E. Hall (Mar–Aug 1993), Brian M. Flora (Aug–Dec 1993), Michael C. Polt (Dec 1993–Mar 1994), and Jeffrey R. Cellars (July 22, 2013 - June 2, 2014)
M. Larry Lawrence California Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Feb 9, 1994 Mar 21, 1994 Died at post Jan 9, 1996
Madeleine M. Kunin Vermont Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Aug 8, 1996 Aug 19, 1996 Left post Aug 16, 1999
J. Richard Fredericks California Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Oct 29, 1999 Dec 2, 1999 Left post Jul 6, 2001
Mercer Reynolds Ohio Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Aug 3, 2001 Sep 11, 2001 Left post Mar 29, 2003
Pamela Willeford Texas Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Oct 7, 2003 Nov 25, 2003 Left post May 6, 2006
Peter R. Coneway Texas Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Sept 6, 2006 Oct 19, 2006 Dec 7, 2008
Donald S. Beyer, Jr. Virginia Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary August 5, 2009 August 15, 2009 May 29, 2013
Suzan G. LeVine Washington Non-career appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary June 2, 2014 July 1, 2014 January 20, 2017 [7]

Recess appointments

The following were commissioned during a Senate recess and thus were recommissioned after their post-recess confirmations.

Other cases

Theodore Sedgwick Fay was nominated to be Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on February 25, 1856, but his nomination was withdrawn before the Senate acted on it. George Schneider was commissioned during a Senate recess and he took the oath of office but did not proceed to post.

References

  1. ↑ "History: The U.S. Ambassadors in Switzerland". Embassy of the United States Bern, Switzerland. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Kunin To Add Liechtenstein to Diplomatic Portfolio". Associated Press. 14 January 1997.
  3. ↑ "Madeleine May Kunin (1933–)". U.S. State Department Office of the Historian. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  4. 1 2 "A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, Since 1776: Liechtenstein". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  5. ↑ United States U.S. Senate – Powers & Procedure Senate.gov Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  6. ↑ Brunner, Jim (6 February 2014). "Obama fundraiser Suzi LeVine nominated as envoy to Switzerland". The Seattle Times.
  7. ↑ http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/hasty-exit_us-ambassador-to-leave-on-presidential-inauguration-day/42598600

See also

References

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