Embassy of the United States, Lebanon | |
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Location | Beirut, Lebanon |
Address | US Embassy, Mazraat El Hdaira, Lebanon |
Coordinates | 33°56′6″N35°35′53″E / 33.93500°N 35.59806°E |
Jurisdiction | Lebanon |
Website | https://lb.usembassy.gov |
The Embassy of the United States, Beirut is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America located in the capital city of Beirut, Lebanon. After the American embassy in Baghdad, the embassy is anticipated to grow to be the second-largest in the world and take up a 43-acre site.
The United States formally recognized the sovereignty of Lebanon on September 8, 1944. Diplomatic relations were established when George Wadsworth II presented his credentials as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on November 16, 1944. The diplomatic mission was elevated from a Legation to an Embassy on October 3, 1952, when Harold B. Minor was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. [1]
During the Lebanese Civil War, due to increasing danger to personnel, the American Embassy was closed and all staff, including Ambassador John Thomas McCarthy, were evacuated on September 6, 1989. The closure occurred following the besieging of the embassy by supporters of a civil war faction, compromising its security and disrupting its operations. The Embassy was reopened on November 29, 1990, with Ryan Crocker presenting his credentials as the new Ambassador. [1]
On 5 June 2024, it was reported that a shooting took place here. [2]
Since its announcement in 2015, the new US embassy compound in Lebanon has been the subject of a significant building project. The embassy is being constructed on the site of the present embassy in the Awkar neighbourhood of Beirut, which is 13 kilometres from the city's centre. With multi-story buildings with tall glass windows, recreational spaces, and a swimming pool surrounded by vegetation and offering views of the Lebanese capital, the new complex is spread on a 43-acre property. According to the project website, the compound contains a chancery, staff housing, facilities for the community, and related support facilities. [3]
The embassy complex, which is expected to cost $1 billion, is being built under the supervision of the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO). The construction of numerous additional US embassies across the world was overseen by the OBO. One of the biggest US diplomatic buildings in the world, the new embassy complex is scheduled to be finished soon. [4]
Particularly given that Lebanon is going through a financial crisis, the scale and price of the new US embassy complex in Lebanon have generated debate and criticism. Some question why the US needs such a sizable embassy in a nation with barely six million inhabitants. [5]
The foreign policy of Lebanon reflects its geographic location, the composition of its population, and its reliance on commerce and trade. Until 2005, Lebanon's foreign policy had been heavily influenced by Syria, however beginning with the formation of Hezbollah in 1982, Iran had gradually grown to heavily influence Lebanon.
Lebanon–United States relations are the bilateral relations between Lebanon and the United States.
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Dorothy C. Shea is an American career diplomat who had served as the United States Ambassador to Lebanon from 2020 to 2023. On December 7, 2022, she received the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award for sustained extraordinary accomplishment. On January 3, 2023, President Biden announced his intention to nominate her as Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and Deputy Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations as well as Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
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