Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, their appointment must be confirmed by the United States Senate; while an ambassador may be appointed during a recess, they can serve only until the end of the next session of Congress, unless subsequently confirmed.
The United States order of precedence is an advisory document maintained by the Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States which lists the ceremonial order, or relative preeminence, for domestic and foreign government officials at diplomatic, ceremonial, and social events within the United States and abroad. The list is used to mitigate miscommunication and embarrassment in diplomacy, and offer a distinct and concrete spectrum of preeminence for ceremonies. Often the document is used to advise diplomatic and ceremonial event planners on seating charts and order of introduction. Former presidents, vice presidents, first ladies, second ladies, and secretaries of state and retired Supreme Court justices are also included in the list.
Nicholas Platt is an American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Pakistan, Philippines, Zambia, and as a high level diplomat in Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Japan. He is the former president of the Asia Society in New York City.
Robert Nicholas Burns is an American diplomat and academic who is the 13th and current United States Ambassador to China since 2022. Burns is a professor of diplomacy and international politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a member of the Board of Directors of the school's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He is director of the Aspen Strategy Group, senior counselor at The Cohen Group, and serves on the board of directors of Entegris, Inc.
The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City.
Jaja Anucha Wachuku, a Royal Prince of Ngwaland, "descendant of 20 generations of African chiefs in the Igbo country of Eastern Nigeria," was a Pan-Africanist, and a Nigerian statesman, lawyer, politician, diplomat and humanitarian. He was the first Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives; as well as first Nigerian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Also, Wachuku was the first Nigerian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
William Brockway Edmondson was an American diplomat in the United States Foreign Service, who served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Republic of South Africa from 1978-1981.
Walter Leon Cutler is an international consultant and advisor, with a focus on the Middle East, and a former U.S. Ambassador.
Richard Boyce Norland is an American diplomat. He currently serves as the United States Ambassador to Libya.
Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi is a Nigerian diplomat. He is best known as the former President of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Uhomoibhi's term as President was from 19 June 2008 to 18 June 2009. Martin Uhomoibhi served as Permanent Secretary of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In October 2015 he was appointed as Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Head of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
Johnnie Carson is a diplomat from the United States who has served as United States Ambassador to several African nations. In 2009 he was nominated to become U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs by President Barack Obama. He resigned in 2013 after four years in the role and following the resignation of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He is currently a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group and the United States Institute of Peace.
The United States has formal diplomatic relations with most nations. This includes all UN member and observer states other than Bhutan, Iran, North Korea and Syria, and the UN observer State of Palestine, the latter of which the U.S. does not recognize. Additionally, the U.S. has diplomatic relations with Kosovo and the European Union.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is an American diplomat who is the United States ambassador to the United Nations under President Joe Biden. She served as the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 2013 to 2017. Thomas-Greenfield then worked in the private sector as a senior vice president at Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, D.C.
Atul Keshap is an American diplomat and career United States Foreign Service Officer from Virginia who recently served as the Chargé d'affaires of the United States mission to India. He formerly served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the United States Department of State. In January, 2022, he was appointed as the president of U.S.-India Business Council.
Erica Jean Barks-Ruggles is a diplomat and former United States Ambassador to Rwanda. She was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in November 2014.
John Peter Pham is an American academic and author specializing in international relations with a focus on African affairs. Pham was the United States Special Envoy for the Sahel Region of Africa, from March 2020 until the end of President Donald Trump's administration in January 2021. Prior to this, he served as the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa from November 2018. Prior to these appointments, Pham was also Vice President of the Atlantic Council and Director of its Africa Center. In September 2020, Pham was accorded the personal rank of ambassador, becoming the first Vietnamese American to achieve that rank. After leaving the Trump administration, Pham rejoined the Atlantic Council as a Distinguished Fellow.
