Embassy of the United States, Lebanon | |
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Location | Beirut, Lebanon |
Address | US Embassy, Mazraat El Hdaira, Lebanon |
Coordinates | 33°56′6″N35°35′53″E / 33.93500°N 35.59806°E |
Jurisdiction | Lebanon |
Website | https://lb.usembassy.gov |
The Embassy of the United States, Beirut is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America located in the capital city of Beirut, Lebanon. After the American embassy in Baghdad, the embassy is anticipated to grow to be the second-largest in the world and take up a 43-acre site.
The United States formally recognized the sovereignty of Lebanon on September 8, 1944. Diplomatic relations were established when George Wadsworth II presented his credentials as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on November 16, 1944. The diplomatic mission was elevated from a Legation to an Embassy on October 3, 1952, when Harold B. Minor was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. [1]
During the Lebanese Civil War, due to increasing danger to personnel, the American Embassy was closed and all staff, including Ambassador John Thomas McCarthy, were evacuated on September 6, 1989. The closure occurred following the besieging of the embassy by supporters of a civil war faction, compromising its security and disrupting its operations. The Embassy was reopened on November 29, 1990, with Ryan Crocker presenting his credentials as the new Ambassador. [1]
Since its announcement in 2015, the new US embassy compound in Lebanon has been the subject of a significant building project. The embassy is being constructed on the site of the present embassy in the Awkar neighbourhood of Beirut, which is 13 kilometres from the city's centre. With multi-story buildings with tall glass windows, recreational spaces, and a swimming pool surrounded by vegetation and offering views of the Lebanese capital, the new complex is spread on a 43-acre property. According to the project website, the compound contains a chancery, staff housing, facilities for the community, and related support facilities. [2]
The embassy complex, which is expected to cost $1 billion, is being built under the supervision of the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO). The construction of numerous additional US embassies across the world was overseen by the OBO. One of the biggest US diplomatic buildings in the world, the new embassy complex is scheduled to be finished soon. [3]
Particularly given that Lebanon is going through a financial crisis, the scale and price of the new US embassy complex in Lebanon have generated debate and criticism. Questioning why the US needs such a sizable embassy in a nation with barely six million inhabitants. [4]
The Embassy of the United States in Wellington is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in New Zealand. The United States had consular representation in Wellington from 1868 and since 1922, the consul-general relocated from Auckland to the country's capital, Wellington. The United States recognized New Zealand's independent status in 1942 and in the same year, a legation was established in Wellington. In 1948, the transition from legation to embassy occurred. After leasing various offices for decades, the United States had a purpose-built embassy established in Thorndon in 1977; this remains the current embassy building.
The Embassy of the United States in Tallinn, Estonia, is located at the chancery building on Kentmanni Street. This building housed the U.S. legation to Estonia from April 1, 1930 until September 5, 1940. The U.S. Mission to Estonia resumed operations in the same building on February 6, 1992.
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.
Dorothy C. Shea is an American career diplomat who had served as the United States Ambassador to Lebanon from 2020 to 2023. On December 7, 2022, she received the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award for sustained extraordinary accomplishment. On January 3, 2023, President Biden announced his intention to nominate her as Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and Deputy Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations as well as Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
The Embassy of the United States in Phnom Penh is the primary diplomatic mission of the United States to Cambodia. It is located in the capital Phnom Penh. The United States has had a physical diplomatic presence in Cambodia ever since relations were initiated in 1950, which was promoted to an embassy in 1952. A history of strained and suspended relations throughout the Cold War led to the embassy being forced to close at various times, including permanently between 1965 and 1969 and again between 1975 and 1991. Before the latter closure, embassy staff were evacuated in an operation similar to the more famous US evacuation of Saigon. As US-Cambodia relations improved and security threats increased through the 2000s, a new purpose-built complex was constructed. It was opened in 2006, being one of the first American diplomatic missions constructed around the post-9/11 "Standard Embassy Design" model.