Ambassador of the United States to Somalia | |
---|---|
السفارة الأمريكية في الصومال Danjiraha Maraykanka u fadhiya Soomaaliya | |
![]() Seal of the United States Department of State | |
![]() | |
since June 21, 2024 | |
Style | His or Her Excellency (formal) Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal) |
Reports to | United States Secretary of State |
Appointer | President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate |
Term length | At the pleasure of the President |
Inaugural holder | Andrew G. Lynch as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |
Formation | July 5, 1960 |
Website | U.S. Embassy in Somalia |
The United States ambassador to Somalia is the most senior diplomatic representative of the United States federal government assigned to Somalia. From 2015 to 2018 the U.S. maintained a non-resident diplomatic mission in Nairobi for Somalia and its constituent autonomous regions.[1] In January 2013, a senior American government official indicated that the United States could eventually reopen its embassy in Mogadishu, which had closed in the early 1990s.[2] In June 2014, the U.S. State Department also announced that it would soon name a new ambassador to Somalia.[3] In February 2015, the U.S. government nominated its first official ambassador since 1991.[4] In December 2018, the mission returned to Mogadishu.[5]
Overview
Diplomatic relations between the United States and Somalia started in 1960, when the Somali Republic gained independence. The U.S. immediately recognized the Somali government and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The American embassy in Somalia's capital Mogadishu was established on July 1, 1960, with Andrew G. Lynch as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. He was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary four days later on July 5, 1960.
After the collapse of the Siad Barre regime and the start of the civil war in the early 1990s, the U.S. embassy closed down. However, the American government never formally severed diplomatic ties with Somalia. The United States maintained a regular dialogue with the reconstituted Somali central government through a special envoy based in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, before reopening its Mission to Somalia in 2013.[2]
In January 2013, the U.S. announced that it was set to exchange diplomatic notes with the new Federal Government of Somalia, re-establishing official ties with the country for the first time in 20 years. According to the Department of State, the decision was made in recognition of the significant progress that the Somali authorities had achieved on both the political and war fronts.[2][6] A senior American government official also indicated after the announcement that the United States could eventually reopen its embassy in Mogadishu.[2]
Since the reopening of the U.S. Mission to Somalia in fall of 2013,[7] the United States has continued to be represented in Somalia by a special envoy based in Nairobi and titled a Special Representative. On August 26, 2013, the US appointed James P. McAnulty as its Special Representative to Somalia.[8][9]
In 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Katherine Dhanani to become the first U.S. Ambassador to Somalia since the U.S. closed its embassy there in 1991, but she later withdrew from the nomination process for personal reasons.[10]
In June 2016, Stephen Schwartz was sworn in as the first U.S. ambassador to Somalia in a quarter century. Schwartz's appointment came a year after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Mogadishu. Schwartz resigned on September 29, 2017.[11]
President Donald J. Trump nominated Donald Yamamoto as the United States Ambassador to Somalia.[12] Mr. Yamamoto was appointed on October 19, 2018.[13]
On April 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Larry André Jr. to be the next United States Ambassador to Somalia. On December 18, 2021, the United States Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote and he presented his credentials on February 7, 2022.[14]
Ambassadors
U.S. diplomatic terms |
---|
Career FSO After 1915, The United States Department of State began classifying ambassadors as career Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) for those who have served in the Foreign Service for a specified amount of time. Political appointee A person who is not a career foreign service officer, but is appointed by the president (often as a reward to political friends). Appointed The date that the ambassador took the oath of office; also known as "commissioning". It follows confirmation of a presidential appointment by the Senate, or a Congressional recess appointment by the president. In the case of a recess appointment, the ambassador requires subsequent confirmation by the Senate to remain in office. Presented credentials The date that the ambassador presented his letter of credence to the head of state or appropriate authority of the receiving nation. At this time the ambassador officially becomes the representative of his country. This would normally occur a short time after the ambassador's arrival on station. The host nation may reject the ambassador by not receiving the ambassador's letter, but this occurs only rarely. Terminated mission Usually the date that the ambassador left the country. In some cases a letter of recall is presented, ending the ambassador's commission, either as a means of diplomatic protest or because the diplomat is being reassigned elsewhere and replaced by another envoy. Chargé d'affaires The person in charge of the business of the embassy when there is no ambassador commissioned to the host country. Ad interim Latin phrase meaning "for the time being", "in the meantime". |
Name | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Andrew G. Lynch – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 5, 1960 | July 11, 1960 | May 7, 1962 | |
Horace G. Torbert, Jr. – Career FSO[15] | February 17, 1962 | January 31, 1963 | August 29, 1965 | ||
Raymond L. Thurston – Career FSO | September 1, 1965 | November 23, 1965 | December 15, 1968 | ||
Fred L. Hadsel – Career FSO | May 13, 1969 | June 28, 1969 | July 18, 1971 | ||
Matthew J. Looram, Jr. – Career FSO[16] | February 15, 1972 | March 13, 1972 | July 5, 1973 | ||
Roger Kirk – Career FSO | September 20, 1973 | October 8, 1973 | February 20, 1975 | ||
John L. Loughran[17] – Career FSO | May 8, 1975 | August 13, 1975 | November 5, 1978 | ||
Donald K. Petterson – Career FSO | October 12, 1978 | December 8, 1978 | December 30, 1982 | ||
Robert B. Oakley – Career FSO | September 30, 1982 | January 26, 1983 | August 12, 1984 | ||
Peter S. Bridges – Career FSO[18] | November 14, 1984 | December 19, 1984 | May 14, 1986 | ||
John L. Hirsch | Chargé d'affaires ad interim | May 14, 1986 | N/A | August 1986 | |
David P. Rawson | August 1986 | N/A | June 3, 1987 | ||
T. Frank Crigler – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | April 24, 1987 | June 3, 1987 | April 1, 1990 | |
James Keough Bishop – Career FSO | June 27, 1990 | September 19, 1990 | January 5, 1991 |
Post vacant 1991–2016 | |
Stephen M. Schwartz – Career FSO | May 20, 2016 | August 9, 2016[19] | October 6, 2017[11] | ||
Donald Y. Yamamoto – Career FSO | October 19, 2018[13] | November 17, 2018 | July 2021[20] | ||
Larry André Jr. – Career FSO | December 18, 2021 | February 7, 2022 | May 30, 2023 | ||
Timothy Trenkle | Chargé d'affaires ad interim | May 30, 2023 | July 24, 2023 | ||
Shane Dixon | July 24, 2023 | June 17, 2024 | |||
Richard H. Riley IV | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 2, 2024 | June 21, 2024 | Incumbent |
See also
- Somalia – United States relations
- Foreign relations of Somalia
- Ambassadors of the United States
- Embassy of the United States, Mogadishu
References
- Specific
- ^ "U.S. Relations With Somalia". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ a b c d "US set to formally recognise Somali government after 20-year hiatus". Reuters. January 17, 2013. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ^ "U.S. Taps First Envoy to Somalia in 20 Years". ABC News. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ^ "Obama Nominates First U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Since 1991". Goobjoog. February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
- ^ "US reopens permanent diplomatic mission in Somalia". December 5, 2018.
- ^ "U.S. Set to Recognize Somali Government". VOA. January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ^ [1] Qurbejoog.com, article accurately records date that U.S. reopened of its Mission to Somalia, but erroneously refers to McAnulty as "U.S. ambassador to Somalia"
- ^ "About Us". United States Mission to Somalia. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
- ^ "Somalia: U.S. Special Representative James P. McAnulty". US Department of State. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
- ^ [2] Aljazeera
- ^ a b Hassan, Mohamed Olad (October 6, 2017). "US Ambassador to Somalia Resigns". VOA. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ Getachew, Samuel (July 14, 2018). "Trump appoints Yamamoto as US ambassador to Somalia". The Reporter. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- ^ a b "Donald Y. Yamamoto". United States Department of State. October 19, 2018. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ "PN376 - Nomination of Larry Edward Andre Jr. for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. December 18, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
- ^ Torbert was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on March 12, 1963.
- ^ An earlier nomination of December 15, 1971, was not acted upon by the Senate.
- ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JOHN L. LOUGHRAN" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. June 22, 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ Bridges was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on July 12, 1985.
- ^ "Stephen Michael Schwartz - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
- ^ "Chargé d'Affaires ad interim Colleen Crenwelge". U.S. Embassy in Somalia. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- General
- United States Department of State: Background notes on Somalia
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.