Ambassador of the United States to Brunei | |
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Style | His or Her Excellency (formal) Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal) |
Reports to | United States Secretary of State |
Residence | Bandar Seri Begawan |
Appointer | President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate |
Term length | At the pleasure of the President |
Inaugural holder | Barrington King as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |
Formation | April 12, 1984 |
Website | U.S. Embassy - Bandar Seri Begawan |
The United States ambassador to Brunei is the official representative of the president of the United States and the American government to the monarch and government of Brunei. [1] The position is held by Caryn McClelland, who presented her credentials to Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on May 24, 2022. [2]
Until 1984, Brunei was a self-governing protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1979 Brunei and the United Kingdom signed a new treaty of friendship and cooperation, and on January 1, 1984, Brunei became a fully independent state.
The United States recognized Brunei immediately. On January 1, 1984, the same day Brunei became independent, the former U.S. Consulate in Bandar Seri Begawan was upgraded to embassy status with Douglas Ellice as Principal Officer and Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. The first ranking U.S. ambassador to Brunei was commissioned on April 12 of the same year.
The United States Embassy in Brunei is located in Bandar Seri Begawan.
U.S. diplomatic terms |
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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 | Portrait | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Appointer | Notes |
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Barrington King | April 12, 1984 | May 28, 1984 | April 30, 1987 | Ronald Reagan | ||
Thomas Crooks Ferguson | July 15, 1987 | July 2, 1987 | April 9, 1989 | |||
Christopher Hallowell Phillips | October 10, 1989 | November 28, 1989 | October 31, 1991 | George H. W. Bush | ||
Donald Burnham Ensenat | August 11, 1992 | September 26, 1992 | June 13, 1993 | |||
Theresa Anne Tull | October 8, 1993 | January 5, 1994 | April 30, 1996 | Bill Clinton | ||
Glen Robert Rase | July 2, 1996 | September 16, 1996 | June 6, 1999 | |||
Sylvia Gaye Stanfield | August 9, 1999 | November 3, 1999 | August 28, 2002 | |||
Gene Burl Christy | November 15, 2002 | January 24, 2003 | July 18, 2005 | George W. Bush | ||
Emil Mark Skodon | June 27, 2005 | November 1, 2005 | August 1, 2008 | |||
William Edward Todd | July 14, 2008 | September 15, 2008 | June 6, 2010 | |||
John William McIntyre | June 6, 2010 | March 28, 2011 | Barack Obama | Chargé d'Affaires | ||
Daniel Luke Shields | March 28, 2011 | April 5, 2011 | November 22, 2014 [3] | |||
Craig Boyd Allen | December 19, 2014 | March 9, 2015 | July 20, 2018 | |||
Matthew John Matthews | January 7, 2019 | April 15, 2019 | May 20, 2020 | Donald Trump | † | |
Scott E. Woodard | May 20, 2020 [4] | - | August 2020 | Chargé d'Affaires | ||
Emily M. Fleckner | August 2020 [5] | - | May 24, 2022 | |||
Caryn McClelland | December 18, 2021 | May 24, 2022 | Incumbent | Joe Biden |
Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital and largest city of Brunei. It is officially a municipal area with an area of 100.36 square kilometres (38.75 sq mi) and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei-Muara District, the smallest yet most populous district which is home to over 70 per cent of the country's population. It is the country's largest urban centre and nominally the country's only city. The capital is home to Brunei's seat of government, as well as a commercial and cultural centre. It was formerly known as Brunei Town until it was renamed in 1970 in honour of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the 28th Sultan of Brunei and the father of the current Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni Hassanal Bolkiah is the eldest son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and his wife Queen Saleha. He is the Crown Prince of Brunei Darussalam and is first in the line of succession to the Bruneian throne.
Relations between Brunei and the United States date from the 19th century. On 6 April 1845, USS Constitution visited Brunei. The two countries concluded a Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Commerce and Navigation in 1850, which remains in force today. The United States maintained a consulate in Brunei from 1865 to 1867.
Brunei and Russia established diplomatic relations in 1991. Brunei maintains an embassy in Moscow, while Russia has an embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan.
Pusat Bandar is the city centre of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei. It is home to a number of national landmarks, important government offices, and commercial and financial establishments.
The Embassy of the Philippines in Bandar Seri Begawan is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the Sultanate of Brunei. Opened in 1984 after Brunei gained independence from the United Kingdom, it is currently located in the Diplomatic Enclave of Bandar Seri Begawan, behind the offices of the country's Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
Brunei and Germany established diplomatic relations in 1984. Brunei has an embassy in Berlin, and Germany has an embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan.
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Kristina A. Kvien is an American diplomat who has served as United States ambassador to Armenia since February 2023. She previously served as United States chargé d’affaires to Ukraine from May to June 2019 and from January 2020 to May 2022. From June 2019 to January 2020, she was deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of the United States in Kyiv.
The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Bandar Seri Begawan is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Indonesia to Brunei Darussalam. Since 1 July 2014, the chancery has been located at Simpang 336-43, Kebangsaan Street in Kampong Kawasan Diplomatik. Prior to this location, the embassy was located at Simpang 528, Lot 4498, Muara Street in Kampong Sungai Hanching Baru.
Caryn R. McClelland is an American diplomat who is serving as the United States ambassador to Brunei. She assumed office in 2022.
Brunei–Palestine relations refer to foreign relations between Brunei and the State of Palestine. Brunei supports the creation of a independent Palestine based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.