United States Ambassador to South Vietnam

Ambassador of the United States to South Vietnam
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent None
Nominator	The President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Donald R. Heath as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Formation	June 29, 1950
Final holder	Graham A. Martin
Abolished	April 29, 1975

At the end of World War II in Asia, France attempted to regain control of Vietnam, as part of French Indochina, which it had lost to Japan in 1941. Following the First Indochina War, the country was split into two parts, the North and the South. The southern part was named the State of Vietnam under the leadership of Bảo Đại. In 1950, the United States recognized the Bảo Đại government, established diplomatic relations, and sent its first ambassador to Saigon in South Vietnam, officially known as the Republic of Vietnam following the rise of Ngô Đình Diệm in 1955. The US was opposed to the communist government of the North, led by Hồ Chí Minh, and did not recognize the northern regime.

Following the Vietnam War, the US Embassy in Saigon was closed and all Embassy personnel evacuated on April 29, 1975, just prior to the Fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese and Việt Cộng forces.

Ambassadors

U.S. diplomatic terms

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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".

Portrait	Name	Type	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission
	Donald R. Heath [1]	Career FSO	EE/MP	June 29, 1950	October 22, 1950	June 25, 1952 [2]
	Donald R. Heath	Career FSO	AE/P	June 25, 1952 [3]	July 11, 1952	November 14, 1954
	G. Frederick Reinhardt	Career FSO	AE/P	April 20, 1955	May 28, 1955 [4]	February 10, 1957
	Elbridge Durbrow	Career FSO	AE/P	March 14, 1957	April 16, 1957	May 3, 1961
	Frederick E. Nolting Jr.	Career FSO	AE/P	March 15, 1961	May 10, 1961	August 15, 1963
	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	Political appointee	AE/P	August 1, 1963	August 26, 1963	June 28, 1964
	Maxwell D. Taylor	Political appointee	AE/P	July 1, 1964	July 14, 1964	July 30, 1965
	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.	Political appointee	AE/P	July 31, 1965	August 25, 1965	April 25, 1967
	Ellsworth F. Bunker	Political appointee	AE/P	April 5, 1967	April 28, 1967	May 11, 1973
	Graham A. Martin	Career FSO	AE/P	June 21, 1973	July 20, 1973	April 29, 1975

Deputy Ambassadors

Portrait	Name	Start date	End date
	U. Alexis Johnson	June 1964	September 1965
	William J. Porter	September 1965	May 1967
	Eugene M. Locke	May 1967	January 1968
	Samuel D. Berger	March 1968	March 1972
	Charles S. Whitehouse	March 1972	August 1973

Notes

1. Heath was also accredited to Cambodia and Laos but resident at Saigon.
2. Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
3. Edmund A. Gullion was serving as Chargé d'affaires ad interim when the Legation in Saigon was raised to Embassy status on Jun 25, 1952.
4. Reinhardt was reaccredited when South Vietnam became a republic; presented new credentials on February 24, 1956.

Sources

• US Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for South Vietnam