Ambassador of the United States to Zambia | |
---|---|
Nominator | The President of the United States |
Inaugural holder | Robert C. Good as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |
Formation | March 11, 1965 |
Website | U.S. Embassy - Lusaka |
The history of ambassadors of the United States to Zambia began in 1964.
Until 1964 Zambia had been a colony of the British Empire, first as Northern Rhodesia and then as a part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. On December 31, 1963, the federation was dissolved into Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia. On October 24, 1964, Northern Rhodesia gained full independence as the Republic of Zambia.
The United States immediately recognized the new nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. An embassy in Lusaka was established on October 24, 1964—independence day for Zambia. Robert C. Foulon was appointed as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim pending the appointment of an ambassador. The first ambassador, Robert C. Good was appointed on March 11, 1965. All U.S. Ambassadors to Zambia have held the official title Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
The United States embassy in Zambia is located in Lusaka.
The U.S. ambassador to Zambia serves concurrently as the U.S. representative to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). [1]
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". |
Name | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission |
---|---|---|---|
Robert C. Good – Political appointee | March 11, 1965 | March 24, 1965 | December 14, 1968 |
Oliver L. Troxel, Jr. – Career FSO | May 27, 1969 | July 17, 1969 | May 12, 1972 |
Jean M. Wilkowski – Career FSO | June 27, 1972 | September 26, 1972 | July 24, 1976 |
Stephen Low – Career FSO | August 5, 1976 | August 31, 1976 | July 5, 1979 |
Frank George Wisner II – Career FSO | August 2, 1979 | August 28, 1979 | April 19, 1982 |
Nicholas Platt – Career FSO | July 22, 1982 | August 31, 1982 | December 17, 1984 |
Paul Julian Hare – Career FSO | July 12, 1985 | July 31, 1985 | August 8, 1988 |
Jeffrey Davidow – Career FSO | July 11, 1988 | September 1, 1988 | March 31, 1990 |
Gordon L. Streeb – Career FSO | October 22, 1990 | November 21, 1990 | December 27, 1993 |
Roland Karl Kuchel – Career FSO | August 9, 1993 | January 14, 1994 | November 10, 1996 |
Arlene Render – Career FSO | July 2, 1996 | December 20, 1996 | June 30, 1999 |
David B. Dunn – Career FSO | July 7, 1999 | September 2, 1999 | July 1, 2002 |
Martin George Brennan – Career FSO | October 3, 2002 | December 5, 2002 | July 15, 2005 |
Carmen M. Martinez – Career FSO | November 2, 2005 | December 12, 2005 | July 29, 2008 |
Donald E. Booth – Career FSO | June 4, 2008 | September 19, 2008 | March 17, 2010 |
Mark C. Storella – Career FSO | August 20, 2010 | September 21, 2010 | August 8, 2013 [2] |
Eric T. Schultz – Career FSO | September 18, 2014 | December 12, 2014 | November 20, 2017 |
Daniel Lewis Foote – Career FSO | November 20, 2017 | December 14, 2017 | January 2, 2020 |
Michael C. Gonzales - Career FSO | August 4, 2022 | September 16, 2022 | Incumbent |
The history of Zambia experienced many stages from colonization to independence from Britain on October 24, 1964. Northern Rhodesia became a British sphere of influence in the present-day region of Zambia in 1888, and was officially proclaimed a British protectorate in 1924. After many years of suggested mergers, Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland were merged into the British Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
The Zambian Defence Force is the military of Zambia. It consists of the Zambian Army, the Zambian Air Force, and the Zambia National Service. The defence forces were formed at Zambian independence on 24 October 1964, from constituent units of the dissolved Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Armed Forces. During the 1970s and 1980s, it played a key role in a number of regional conflicts, namely the South African Border War and Rhodesian Bush War. Being a landlocked country Zambia has no navy, although the Zambian Army maintains a maritime patrol unit for maintaining security on inland bodies of water.
After independence in 1964 the foreign relations of Zambia were mostly focused on supporting liberation movements in other countries in Southern Africa, such as the African National Congress and SWAPO. During the Cold War Zambia was a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Barotseland is a region between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe including half of eastern and northern provinces of Zambia and the whole of Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga Province. It is the homeland of the Lozi people or Barotse, or Malozi, who are a unified group of over 46 individual formerly diverse tribes related through kinship, whose original branch are the Luyi (Maluyi), and also assimilated Southern Sotho tribe of South Africa known as the Makololo.
Mainza Mathias Chona was a Zambian politician and founder of UNIP who served as the third vice-president of Zambia from 1970 to 1973 and Prime Minister on two occasions: from 25 August 1973 to 27 May 1975 and from 20 July 1977 to 15 June 1978.
The diplomatic relationship between the United States of America and Zambia can be characterized as warm and cooperative. Relations are based on their shared experiences as British colonies, both before, after and during the struggle for independence. Several U.S. administrations cooperated closely with Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda, in hopes of facilitating solutions to the conflicts in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Angola, and Namibia. The United States works closely with the Zambian Government to defeat the HIV/AIDS pandemic that is ravaging Zambia, to promote economic growth and development, and to effect political reform needed to promote responsive and responsible government. The United States is also supporting the government's efforts to root out corruption. Zambia is a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The U.S. Government provides a variety of technical assistance and other support that is managed by the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Threshold Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Treasury, Department of Defense, and Peace Corps. The majority of U.S. assistance is provided through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in support of the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Zambia:
Zambia, officially known as the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the southeast of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around the capital and the Copperbelt to the northwest.
Russia–Zambia relations are the bilateral relations between Russia and Zambia.
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. It existed between 1953 and 1963.
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about 1,279 metres (4,196 ft). As of 2019, the city's population was about 3.3 million, while the urban population is estimated at 2.5 million in 2018. Lusaka is the centre of both commerce and government in Zambia and connects to the country's four main highways heading north, south, east and west. English is the official language of the city administration, while Bemba, Tonga, Lenje, Soli, Lozi and Nyanja are the commonly spoken street languages.
The Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) is a Zambian television and radio station, formerly state owned, now technically a statutory body but still essentially under government control. It is the oldest, widest, and largest radio and television service provider in Zambia It was established by an Act of Parliament in 1987, which was passed to transform the Zambia Broadcasting Services from being a Government Department under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services into a statutory body called the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation.
Namibia–Zambia relations refers to the bilateral relations of Namibia and Zambia. Namibia and Zambia are separated by the Zambezi River. The Katima Mulilo Bridge connects Katima Mulilo on the Namibia side with Sesheke, Zambia.
Margaret Joy Tibbetts was an American diplomat. A career Foreign Service Officer, she was the United States Ambassador to Norway from 1964 to 1969 under President Lyndon Johnson. She attended Gould Academy, Wheaton College in Massachusetts and her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College. She was awarded an honorary degree from Bates College in 1962 and Bowdoin College in 1973.
Mark C. Storella a graduate of the Roxbury Latin School, Harvard College and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, is Dean of the Leadership and Management School at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) as of May 28, 2019. Storella was U.S. Ambassador to Zambia from 2010 to 2013.