List of ambassadors of the United States to Somalia

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Ambassador of the United States to Somalia
السفارة الأمريكية في الصومال
Danjiraha Maraykanka u fadhiya Soomaaliya
U.S. Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States ambassador.svg
Flag of the United States ambassador
Richard H. Riley, U.S. Consul General.jpg
since June 21, 2024
Style His or Her Excellency (formal)
Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports to United States Secretary of State
Appointer President of the United States
with the advice and consent of the Senate
Term length At the pleasure of the president
Inaugural holderAndrew G. Lynch
as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
FormationJuly 5, 1960
Website U.S. Embassy in Somalia

The United States ambassador to Somalia is the most senior diplomatic representative of the United States federal government assigned to Somalia. From 2015 to 2018 the U.S. maintained a non-resident diplomatic mission in Nairobi for Somalia and its constituent autonomous regions. [1] In January 2013, a senior American government official indicated that the United States could eventually reopen its embassy in Mogadishu, which had closed in the early 1990s. [2] In June 2014, the U.S. State Department also announced that it would soon name a new ambassador to Somalia. [3] In February 2015, the U.S. government nominated its first official ambassador since 1991. [4] In December 2018, the mission returned to Mogadishu. [5]

Contents

Overview

Diplomatic relations between the United States and Somalia started in 1960, when the Somali Republic gained independence. The U.S. immediately recognized the Somali government and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The American embassy in Somalia's capital Mogadishu was established on July 1, 1960, with Andrew G. Lynch as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. He was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary four days later on July 5, 1960.

After the collapse of the Siad Barre regime and the start of the civil war in the early 1990s, the U.S. embassy closed down. However, the American government never formally severed diplomatic ties with Somalia. The United States maintained a regular dialogue with the reconstituted Somali central government through a special envoy based in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, before reopening its Mission to Somalia in 2013. [2]

In January 2013, the U.S. announced that it was set to exchange diplomatic notes with the new Federal Government of Somalia, re-establishing official ties with the country for the first time in 20 years. According to the Department of State, the decision was made in recognition of the significant progress that the Somali authorities had achieved on both the political and war fronts. [2] [6] A senior American government official also indicated after the announcement that the United States could eventually reopen its embassy in Mogadishu. [2]

Since the reopening of the U.S. Mission to Somalia in fall of 2013, [7] the United States has continued to be represented in Somalia by a special envoy based in Nairobi and titled a Special Representative. On August 26, 2013, the US appointed James P. McAnulty as its Special Representative to Somalia. [8] [9]

In 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Katherine Dhanani to become the first U.S. Ambassador to Somalia since the U.S. closed its embassy there in 1991, but she later withdrew from the nomination process for personal reasons. [10]

In June 2016, Stephen Schwartz was sworn in as the first U.S. ambassador to Somalia in a quarter century. Schwartz's appointment came a year after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Mogadishu. Schwartz resigned on September 29, 2017. [11]

President Donald J. Trump nominated Donald Yamamoto as the United States Ambassador to Somalia. [12] Mr. Yamamoto was appointed on October 19, 2018. [13]

On April 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Larry André Jr. to be the next United States Ambassador to Somalia. On December 18, 2021, the United States Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote and he presented his credentials on February 7, 2022. [14]

Ambassadors

NameTitleAppointed Presented credentials Terminated missionNotes
Andrew G. Lynch – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 5, 1960July 11, 1960May 7, 1962
Horace G. Torbert, Jr. – Career FSO [15] February 17, 1962January 31, 1963August 29, 1965
Raymond L. Thurston – Career FSOSeptember 1, 1965November 23, 1965December 15, 1968
Fred L. Hadsel – Career FSOMay 13, 1969June 28, 1969July 18, 1971
Matthew J. Looram, Jr. – Career FSO [16] February 15, 1972March 13, 1972July 5, 1973
Roger Kirk – Career FSOSeptember 20, 1973October 8, 1973February 20, 1975
John L. Loughran [17] – Career FSOMay 8, 1975August 13, 1975November 5, 1978
Donald K. Petterson – Career FSOOctober 12, 1978December 8, 1978December 30, 1982
Robert B. Oakley – Career FSOSeptember 30, 1982January 26, 1983August 12, 1984
Peter S. Bridges – Career FSO [18] November 14, 1984December 19, 1984May 14, 1986
John L. Hirsch Chargé d'affaires ad interimMay 14, 1986N/AAugust 1986
David P. Rawson August 1986N/AJune 3, 1987
T. Frank Crigler – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryApril 24, 1987June 3, 1987April 1, 1990
James Keough Bishop – Career FSOJune 27, 1990September 19, 1990January 5, 1991

Post vacant 1991–2016

Stephen M. Schwartz – Career FSOMay 20, 2016August 9, 2016 [19] October 6, 2017 [11]
Donald Y. Yamamoto – Career FSOOctober 19, 2018 [13] November 17, 2018July 2021 [20]
Larry André Jr. – Career FSODecember 18, 2021February 7, 2022May 30, 2023
Timothy TrenkleChargé d'affaires ad interimMay 30, 2023July 24, 2023
Shane DixonJuly 24, 2023June 17, 2024
Richard H. Riley IV Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMay 2, 2024June 21, 2024Incumbent

See also

References

Specific
  1. ↑ "U.S. Relations With Somalia". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "US set to formally recognise Somali government after 20-year hiatus". Reuters. January 17, 2013. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  3. ↑ "U.S. Taps First Envoy to Somalia in 20 Years". ABC News. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Obama Nominates First U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Since 1991". Goobjoog. February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  5. ↑ "US reopens permanent diplomatic mission in Somalia". December 5, 2018.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Set to Recognize Somali Government". VOA. January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  7. ↑ Qurbejoog.com, article accurately records date that U.S. reopened of its Mission to Somalia, but erroneously refers to McAnulty as "U.S. ambassador to Somalia"
  8. ↑ "About Us". United States Mission to Somalia. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Somalia: U.S. Special Representative James P. McAnulty". US Department of State. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Aljazeera
  11. 1 2 Hassan, Mohamed Olad (October 6, 2017). "US Ambassador to Somalia Resigns". VOA. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  12. ↑ Getachew, Samuel (July 14, 2018). "Trump appoints Yamamoto as US ambassador to Somalia". The Reporter . Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  13. 1 2 "Donald Y. Yamamoto". United States Department of State. October 19, 2018. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  14. ↑ "PN376 - Nomination of Larry Edward Andre Jr. for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. December 18, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  15. ↑ Torbert was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on March 12, 1963.
  16. ↑ An earlier nomination of December 15, 1971, was not acted upon by the Senate.
  17. ↑ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JOHN L. LOUGHRAN" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. June 22, 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  18. ↑ Bridges was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on July 12, 1985.
  19. ↑ "Stephen Michael Schwartz - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
  20. ↑ "Chargé d'Affaires ad interim Colleen Crenwelge". U.S. Embassy in Somalia. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
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