| Ambassador of the United States to Ukraine | |
|---|---|
| Посол Сполучених Штатів в Україні | |
 Seal of the United States Department of State | |
| Nominator | The President of the United States |
| Inaugural holder | Roman Popadiuk as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |
| Formation | May 11, 1992 |
| Website | U.S. Embassy – Kyiv |
The history of ambassadors of the United States to Ukraine began in 1992. Until 1991, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had been a constituent SSR of the Soviet Union.
Upon the breakup of the USSR, the parliament of Ukraine declared the nation's independence on August 24, 1991. On December 1, 1991, the people of Ukraine voted to approve the declaration by a wide margin.
The United States recognized Ukraine on December 26, 1991, and the U.S. embassy in Kyiv was established on January 23, 1992, with Jon Gundersen as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The first ambassador was commissioned in May 1992.
The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine is located in Kyiv. In January 2022, the embassy requested the evacuation of non-essential personnel and their families as the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis escalated. [1]
| No. | Image | Name | Type | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – |  | Jon Gundersen | Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | January 23, 1992 | May 11, 1992 | |
| 1 |  | Roman Popadiuk | Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 11, 1992 | June 4, 1992 | July 30, 1993 |
| 2 |  | William Green Miller | Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 16, 1993 | October 21, 1993 | January 6, 1998 |
| 3 |  | Steven Pifer | Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 10, 1997 | January 20, 1998 | October 9, 2000 |
| 4 |  | Carlos Pascual | Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 15, 2000 | October 22, 2000 | May 1, 2003 |
| 5 |  | John E. Herbst | Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 1, 2003 | September 20, 2003 | May 26, 2006 |
| 6 |  | William B. Taylor Jr. | Political appointee [2] | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 30, 2006 [2] | June 21, 2006 | May 23, 2009 [3] |
| 7 |  | John F. Tefft [4] | Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary [5] | November 20, 2009 [3] | December 7, 2009 [5] | July 9, 2013 |
| 8 |  | Geoffrey R. Pyatt [6] [7] | Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 30, 2013 [7] | August 15, 2013 [6] | August 18, 2016 |
| 9 |  | Marie Yovanovitch | Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 18, 2016 [8] | August 29, 2016 | May 20, 2019 |
| – |  | Joseph Pennington | Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | May 20, 2019 | May 28, 2019 | |
| – |  | Kristina Kvien | Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim [9] | May 28, 2019 | June 18, 2019 [10] | |
| – | | William B. Taylor Jr. | Political appointee [2] | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim [11] | June 18, 2019 [10] | January 1, 2020 [12] | |
| – | | Kristina Kvien | Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | January 1, 2020 [13] | May 29, 2022 [14] | |
| 10 |  | Bridget Brink | Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 18, 2022 | May 30, 2022 |
U.S. diplomatic terms |
|---|
| 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". |
John F. Tefft is an American diplomat who has served as a Foreign Service Officer since 1972. He the United States Ambassador to Russia between July 31, 2014 and September 28, 2017. He had previously served as the United States' ambassador to Ukraine, Georgia, and Lithuania.
William Brockenbrough Taylor Jr. is an American diplomat, government official, and former military officer. He served as the 6th United States ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009 under President Bush and Obama, and as chargé d’affaires to Ukraine from June 2019 to January 2020 under President Trump.
The United States officially recognized the independence of Ukraine on December 25, 1991. The United States upgraded its consulate in the capital, Kyiv, to embassy status on January 21, 1992. In 2002, relations between the United States and Ukraine deteriorated after one of the recordings made during the Cassette Scandal revealed an alleged transfer of a sophisticated Ukrainian defense system to Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Diplomatic relations between Australia and Ukraine were established in 1992. Ukraine has had an embassy in Canberra since March 2003 and the Australian Embassy in Kyiv was established in December 2014, however, Australia closed its embassy in Kyiv in February 2022 due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Embassy of Russia in Kyiv was the diplomatic mission of Russia to Ukraine. The chancery was located at 27 Povitroflotskyi Prospekt in Ukraine's capital Kyiv.
Belarus–Ukraine relations are foreign relations between Belarus and Ukraine. Both countries are full members of the Baku Initiative and Central European Initiative. In 2020, during the Belarusian protests against president Lukashenko, the relationship between Ukraine and Belarus began to deteriorate, after the Ukrainian government criticized Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. In the waning days of 2021, the relationship between both countries rapidly deteriorated, culminating in a full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. Belarus has allowed the stationing of Russian troops and equipment in its territory and its use as a springboard for offensives into northern Ukraine but has denied the presence of Belarusian troops in Ukraine. Even though part of the Russian invasion was launched from Belarus, Ukraine did not break off diplomatic relations with Belarus, but remain frozen.
The Embassy of the United States of America in Kyiv is the diplomatic mission of the United States to Ukraine.
The Embassy of Poland in Kyiv is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine.
The Embassy of Italy in Kyiv is the diplomatic mission of Italy in Ukraine.
Geoffrey Ross Pyatt is a United States diplomat serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources. He was previously United States Ambassador to Greece and Ukraine. Pyatt's career in the U.S. State Department has led to posts in Asia, Europe, and Central America.
The Embassy of the United States of America to Somalia is a diplomatic mission of the United States in Mogadishu, Somalia from 1960 to 1991. In 1957, the US opened a consulate-general in Mogadishu—the capital of the Trust Territory of Somalia, a UN trusteeship under Italian administration. The consulate was upgraded to embassy status in July 1960, when the US recognized Somalia's independence and appointed an ambassador. The embassy served to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War and also served as a base for the United States Agency for International Development, which had a large presence in the country. In 1989, the embassy moved from a dilapidated building in central Mogadishu to a new compound on the outskirts of the city.
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.
George P. Kent is an American diplomat. He is ambassador to Estonia since February 21, 2023. George Kent served as deputy assistant secretary of state for the European and Eurasian Affairs from 2018 to 2021. As a United States Foreign Service officer, his early service has included assignments in the U.S. diplomatic missions to Poland, Thailand and Uzbekistan. In 2004, he was assigned to serve as deputy political counselor in Kyiv, Ukraine, and was deputy chief of mission in Kyiv from 2015 to 2018.
Bridget Ann Brink is an American diplomat serving as the United States Ambassador to Ukraine. In April 2022, she was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the United States ambassador to Ukraine, and presented her credentials in May 2022. She previously served as the United States Ambassador to Slovakia from August 20, 2019, until May 18, 2022.
Julie D. Fisher is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Cyprus since February 2023. She previously served as the United States ambassador to Belarus from 2020 to 2022.
| Diplomatic posts | |
|---|---|
| Diplomacy | |
| Incidents | |
| Legislation | |
| Related | |
