List of ambassadors of the United States to Poland

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Ambassador of the United States to Poland
Ambasador Stanów Zjednoczonych w Polsce
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Mark Brzezinski, U.S. Ambassador.jpg
Incumbent
Mark Brzezinski
since February 22, 2022
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder Hugh S. Gibson
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationApril 16, 1919
Website U.S. Embassy - Warsaw

The history of ambassadors of the United States to Poland began in 1919.

Contents

Until the end of World War I, Poland had been partitioned between Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. After the war and the collapse of the empires, Poland became an independent republic in 1918.

The United States recognized the Second Polish Republic and established diplomatic relations. The first U.S. Minister to Poland was Hugh S. Gibson, appointed in 1919.

Diplomatic relations were maintained throughout the years of World War II with the government-in-exile of Poland resident in London.

The U.S. Embassy in Poland is located in Warsaw.

Ambassadors

NameTitleAppointedPresented credentials Mission endedNotes
Hugh S. Gibson [1] – Career FSOEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryApril 16, 1919May 2, 1919May 3, 1924
Alfred J. Pearson – Political appointeeApril 2, 1924June 26, 1924August 18, 1925
John B. Stetson Jr. [2] – Political appointeeJuly 3, 1925August 29, 1925August 29, 1929From 1930 onward, the U.S. envoy to Poland had the rank of ambassador.
John N. Willys – Political appointeeAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMarch 8, 1930May 24, 1930May 30, 1932 [3]
Ferdinand Lammot "Mot" Belin [4] [5] – Career FSONovember 2, 1932 [3] December 13, 1932Recess appointment expired, March 4, 1933President Roosevelt nominated James Michael Curley for the post in 1933 but withdrew the nomination before the Senate acted upon it.
John Cudahy – Political appointeeJune 13, 1933September 6, 1933April 23, 1937
Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr. [lower-alpha 1] – Political appointeeMay 4, 1937June 2, 1937Left London December 1, 1943Biddle was the U.S. ambassador in Warsaw in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, which action set off World War II. The government of Poland evacuated the country, first to France (September 1939–June 1940) and later to England. Rudolf E. Schoenfeld opened the U.S. embassy near the government of Poland established in England, making his initial call as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim on September 21, 1940. [6] Biddle followed the government-in-exile to London, where he arrived on March 14, 1941, and continued as ambassador through 1943.
The U.S. embassy in London to the government-in-exile of Poland was terminated on July 5, 1945. Rudolf E. Schoenfeld was still serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when United States withdrew the recognition of the Polish government in exile, recognizing the new communist government, and the mission in London was closed.
Arthur Bliss Lane – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiarySeptember 21, 1944August 4, 1945February 24, 1947The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw was reestablished on July 5, 1945
Stanton Griffis – Political appointeeMay 15, 1947July 9, 1947April 21, 1948
Waldemar J. Gallman [7] – Career FSOJuly 7, 1948October 15, 1948July 8, 1950
Joseph Flack – Career FSOSeptember 20, 1950November 30, 1950Left Poland, April 22, 1955
Joseph E. Jacobs – Career FSOApril 1, 1955May 23, 1955July 23, 1957
Jacob D. Beam – Career FSOJune 26, 1957August 9, 1957November 30, 1961
John M. Cabot – Career FSOJanuary 30, 1962March 2, 1962September 24, 1965
John A. Gronouski – Political appointeeSeptember 11, 1965December 7, 1965May 26, 1968
Walter J. Stoessel Jr. – Career FSOJuly 24, 1968September 12, 1968August 5, 1972
Richard T. Davies [8] – Career FSODecember 2, 1972January 5, 1973February 5, 1978
William E. Schaufele Jr. – Career FSOFebruary 3, 1978March 30, 1978September 11, 1980
Francis J. Meehan – Career FSOOctober 2, 1980October 27, 1980February 11, 1983The following officers served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim: Herbert E. Wilgis Jr. (February–July 1983); and John R. Davis Jr. (September 1983–January 1987). Davis was appointed as Chargé d'Affaires on January 9, 1987 and subsequently appointed as ambassador.
John R. Davis Jr. – Career FSOFebruary 5, 1988March 17, 1988July 20, 1990
Thomas W. Simons Jr. – Career FSOAugust 6, 1990September 11, 1990April 28, 1993
Nicholas Andrew Rey – Political appointeeNovember 22, 1993December 21, 1993October 25, 1997
Daniel Fried – Career FSONovember 10, 1997November 27, 1997May 6, 2000
Christopher R. Hill – Career FSOMay 31, 2000July 27, 2000April 14, 2004
Victor Henderson Ashe – Political appointeeMay 26, 2004August 17, 2004September 29, 2009
Lee A. Feinstein – Political appointeeSeptember 28, 2009October 20, 2009October 28, 2012 [9]
Stephen Mull – Career FSOOctober 24, 2012November 8, 2012August 29, 2015
Paul W. Jones – Career FSOJune 8, 2015September 24, 2015July 28, 2018
Georgette Mosbacher – Political appointeeFebruary 14, 2018September 6, 2018January 20, 2021
Mark Brzezinski – Political appointeeDecember 18, 2021February 22, 2022Incumbent

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gibson was commissioned during a recess of the Senate but the commission not on record; he took oath of office on April 16, 1919. He was recommissioned on June 26, 1919, after confirmation.
  2. ↑ Stetson was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1925.
  3. 1 2 "THE PRESIDENCY: Thanksgiving", Time , November 14, 1932, archived from the original on October 27, 2010, retrieved October 20, 2011
  4. ↑ Shapira, Ian (October 15, 2011), "A family's hidden history is revealed after sale of their grand Georgetown estate", Washington Post , archived from the original on October 16, 2011, retrieved October 20, 2011
  5. ↑ Belin was appointed during a recess of the Senate. He was not recommissioned and his recess appointment expired with the beginning of the next Senate.
  6. ↑ "Rudolf Schoenfeld, Ambassador To 3 Nations for U.S., Dies at 86". The New York Times. April 19, 1981. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  7. ↑ Gallman was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on March 2, 1949.
  8. ↑ Davies was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on February 8, 1973.
  9. ↑
    //history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/feinstein-lee-andrew
  1. ↑ Biddle was also commissioned to the governments-in-exile of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Yugoslavia.
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