List of ambassadors of the United States to Burundi

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Ambassador of the United States to Burundi
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Lisa J. Peterson, U.S. Ambassador.jpg
Incumbent
Lisa J. Peterson
since June 27, 2024
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder Donald A. Dumont
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationOctober 25, 1962
Website U.S. Embassy - Bujumbura

The part of Africa that is now Burundi and Rwanda was a feudal monarchy headed by a mwami (king) and a ganwa, a feudal hierarchy of Tutsi nobles and gentry until 1890. In that year the Germans attacked the nation and attempted to subdue it with armed force. Eventually the Germans backed an attempted coup d’état against the king, Mwezi Gisabo. The coup was unsuccessful, but Gisabo was eventually forced to concede and agreed to German suzerainty. The Germans then helped him suppress the revolt. Thus Burundi became part of German East Africa in 1890.

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In 1915 during The Great War, Belgian troops from Zaire drove the small number of Germans out of Burundi and took control of the country.

After World War I Germany lost its overseas possessions and the League of Nations mandated Burundi and its northern neighbor, Rwanda, to Belgium as the territory of Ruanda-Urundi in 1923. The western kingdoms of Ruanda-Urundi were stripped from the old colonies and given to British-administered Tanganyika. The Belgians administered the territory through indirect rule, building on the Tutsi-dominated aristocratic hierarchy.

Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory with Belgium as the administrative authority.

In June 1962 the UN General Assembly terminated the Belgian trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda and Burundi. The United States immediately recognized the Burundian government and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The U.S. Embassy in the capital Usumbura (now Bujumbura) was established on July 1, 1962, with Herbert V. Olds as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. Donald A. Dumont was appointed as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Burundi on October 25, 1962.

The rank of the mission was changed to Legation effective December 15, 1962, and to Embassy again effective September 16, 1963.

Ambassadors

NameTitleAppointed Presented credentials Terminated missionNotes
Donald A. Dumont – Career FSO [1] [2] [3] Envoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryOctober 25, 1962January 17, 1963August 1, 1963Dumont was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on August 1, 1963. This required a new commission.
Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryAugust 1, 1963September 16, 1963January 10, 1966Recall requested by Govt. of Burundi, December 29, 1965
George W. Renchard – Career FSOJuly 24, 1968August 10, 1968October 15, 1969
Thomas Patrick Melady – Political appointeeNovember 4, 1969January 31, 1970May 25, 1972
Robert L. Yost – Career FSOJune 27, 1972August 19, 1972May 26, 1974
David E. Mark – Career FSOJune 20, 1974September 4, 1974August 26, 1977
Thomas J. Corcoran – Career FSO [4] March 2, 1978April 6, 1978August 19, 1980
Frances D. Cook – Career FSOJune 30, 1980September 25, 1980March 15, 1983
James R. Bullington – Career FSOMarch 13, 1983April 14, 1983July 11, 1986
James Daniel Phillips [5] – Career FSOOctober 16, 1986November 20, 1986January 12, 1990
Cynthia Shepard Perry – Political appointeeNovember 21, 1989February 12, 1990February 28, 1993The post was vacant from March 1993 to June 1994. Leonard J. Lange, Career FSO, served as chargé d'affaires ad interim during that period.
Robert Krueger – Political appointeeMay 9, 1994June 29, 1994September 10, 1995
Morris N. Hughes, Jr. – Career FSOJune 11, 1996June 27, 1996May 14, 1999
Mary Carlin Yates – Career FSONovember 16, 1999December 15, 1999June 19, 2002
James Howard Yellin – Career FSOAugust 8, 2002September 26, 2002July 21, 2005
Patricia Moller – Career FSOOctober 27, 2005March 31, 2006June 29, 2009 [6]
Pamela J. H. Slutz - Career FSO [7] November 2, 2009December 11, 2009February 22, 2012
Dawn M. Liberi – Career FSOOctober 19, 2012January 18, 2013July 24, 2016
Anne S. Casper – Career FSOMay 18, 2016October 20, 2016May 5, 2019
Eunice Reddick – Career FSOChargé d'Affairs ad interimMay 5, 2019March 2, 2021
Melanie Harris Higgins – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryNovember 18, 2020March 2, 2021July 13, 2023
Keith R. Gilges – Career FSOChargé d'Affairs ad interimJuly 14, 2023May 2024
David Dale Reimer - Career FSOChargé d'Affairs ad interimMay 2024June 21, 2024
Lisa J. Peterson - Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMay 2, 2024June 27, 2024Incumbent

Notes

  1. Dumont was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on March 12, 1963.
  2. The rank of the mission was raised from Legation to Embassy simultaneously with Dumont’s promotion.
  3. Following a coup d’état in Burundi, Dumont was recalled at the request of the government of Burundi on January 10, 1966.
  4. "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR THOMAS J. CORCORAN" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 21 June 1988. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  5. "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JAMES D. PHILLIPS" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 5 May 1998. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  6. "Patricia Newton Moller - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
  7. "Pamela J. H. Slutz". Biography. U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.

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References