List of ambassadors of the United States to Albania

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Ambassador of the United States to Albania
Ambasadori i Shteteve të Bashkuara në Shqipëri
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Nancy Vanhorn
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim [1]
since August 5, 2024
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder Ulysses Grant-Smith
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationSeptember 22, 1922
Website Ambassador to Albania

This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Albania . The ambassador is the head of the Embassy of the United States in Tirana.

Contents

History

Albania had been under the domination of the Ottoman Empire since the 14th century, but gained a shaky independence in 1912 after an uprising against the Turks. After suffering invasions and occupations during the First and Second Balkan Wars and the Great War, Albania achieved a relatively stable degree of statehood.

The United States established diplomatic relations with Albania in 1922. President Harding appointed the first U.S. Minister to Albania, Ulysses Grant-Smith, who arrived in Tirana in December 1922. The first envoys to Albania had the rank of Minister.

Albania–United States relations were broken in 1939 upon the Italian invasion of Albania just prior to the start of World War II. Relations were not restored until the downfall of Communism in Europe in 1991.

Ambassadors

#NameTitleAppointed Presented credentials Terminated mission
1 Ulysses Grant-Smith – Career FSOEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiarySeptember 22, 1922December 4, 1922Left post, February 8, 1925
2 Charles C. Hart [2] – Political appointeeEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryMay 27, 1925August 1, 1925, and December 13, 1928 [3] Left post, December 12, 1929
3 Herman Bernstein – Political appointeeEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryFebruary 17, 1930April 28, 1930Left post, September 24, 1933
4 Post Wheeler [4] – Career FSOEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryAugust 26, 1933November 28, 1933Left post, November 1, 1934
5 Hugh Gladney Grant – Political appointeeEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryAugust 9, 1935November 8, 1935Left post, September 27, 1939
Italian forces occupied Tirana on April 8, 1939, which effectively brought an end to the U.S. mission to Albania. The U.S. legation was officially closed on September 16, 1939.

The United States resumed diplomatic relations with Albania on March 15, 1991. Embassy Tirana was opened October 1, 1991, with Christopher R. Hill as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. The previous legation was raised to embassy status, and the envoys would henceforth have the rank of Ambassador.

6 William Edwin Ryerson – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryDecember 2, 1991December 21, 1991Left post, October 13, 1994
7 Joseph Edward Lake – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 5, 1994October 17, 1994Left post, March 15, 1996
8 Marisa R. Lino – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 2, 1996September 4, 1996May 20, 1999
9 Joseph Limprecht – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 7, 1999September 8, 1999Died in northern Albania, May 19, 2002 [5] [6]
10 James Franklin Jeffrey – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryOctober 3, 2002October 22, 2002May 2, 2004
11 Marcie B. Ries – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryOctober 18, 2004October 30, 2004June 16, 2007
12 John L. Withers, II – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJune 28, 2007August 29, 2007November 10, 2010
13 Alexander Arvizu – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 1, 2010December 6, 2010January 11, 2015
14 Donald Lu – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryDecember 16, 2014January 13, 2015September 19, 2018 [7]
- Leyla Moses-Ones [8] Chargé d'Affaires a.i.September 19, 2018January 27, 2020
15 Yuri Kim - Career General [9] Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryNovember 21, 2019January 27, 2020June 25, 2023
-Damian Smith - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires a.i.June 26, 2023August 1, 2023
-H. Martin McDowell - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires a.i.August 1, 2023August 18, 2023
- David Wisner - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires a.i.August 18, 2023August 5, 2024
-Nancy Vanhorn - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires a.i.August 5, 2024Incumbent

Notes

  1. https://x.com/USEmbassyTirana/status/1820400125350461835?t=nvI5msE8LAIXgDLRWwbMkw&s=19 [ bare URL ]
  2. Hart was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1925.
  3. Hart was reaccredited when Albania became a monarchy. He presented new credentials December 13, 1928
  4. Wheeler was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 15, 1934.
  5. Obituary, The New York Times. May 21, 2002
  6. Obituary. Los Angeles Times. May 21, 2002
  7. Bewig, Matt (June 8, 2018). "Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan: Who Is Donald Lu?". www.allgov.com. AllGov.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  8. "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Leyla Moses-Ones". September 2018. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018. NOTE: Nominee Kathleen Ann Kavalec is awaiting Senate confirmation as new Ambassador to Albania, www.state.gov/m/dghr/coc/284673.htm (Dec. 2018)
  9. "Ambassador Yuri Kim". U.S. Embassy in Albania. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.

See also

References