List of ambassadors of the United States to Ethiopia

The United States established diplomatic relations with Ethiopia in 1903 and commissioned its first ambassador to Ethiopia, Hoffman Philip, in 1908. Relations continued uninterrupted until 1980. In July 1980, the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia was recalled at the request of the Ethiopian Government, and the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Embassy in the United States were headed by chargés d’affaires. After the defeat of the Derg regime in 1991 and installation of a new government, the current chargé was commissioned as the new ambassador. The U.S. has had good relations with the Ethiopian government since that time.

Ambassador of the United States to Ethiopia
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Ervin Jose Massinga since October 3, 2023[1][2]
Nominator	The President of the United States
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder	Hoffman Philip as Minister Resident/Consul General
Formation	July 20, 1908
Website	U.S. Embassy - Addis Ababa

Ambassadors

Name	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission	Notes
Hoffman Philip[3]	Minister Resident/Consul General	July 20, 1908	July 6, 1909	February 8, 1910
Addison E. Southard – Career FSO[4]		October 12, 1927	March 1, 1928	October 26, 1934
Cornelius Van H. Engert – Career FSO[5]		February 7, 1936	April 30, 1936	May 4, 1937	The U. S. Legation in Addis Ababa was closed and diplomatic personnel were withdrawn following the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1937. The U. S. never recognized Italian authority in Ethiopia. The legation was reopened and a new Minister Resident/Consul was appointed in 1943.
John K. Caldwell – Career FSO[6]		April 14, 1943	August 31, 1943	December 9, 1943
John K. Caldwell – Career FSO[6]	Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	October 7, 1943	December 9, 1943	August 26, 1945
Felix Cole – Career FSO		February 20, 1945	October 5, 1945	October 8, 1947
George R. Merrell – Career FSO[7]		May 15, 1947	January 1, 1948	May 21, 1949
George R. Merrell – Career FSO[7]	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	May 21, 1949	June 28, 1949	March 17, 1951
J. Rives Childs – Career FSO		April 19, 1951	May 14, 1951	January 19, 1953
Joseph Simonson – Political appointee		July 22, 1953	October 6, 1953	May 1, 1957
Don C. Bliss – Career FSO		May 20, 1957	June 22, 1957	June 4, 1960
Arthur L. Richards – Career FSO		June 24, 1960	August 26, 1960	Left Ethiopia, November 25, 1962
Edward M. Korry – Political appointee		March 9, 1963	April 20, 1963	September 22, 1967
William O. Hall – Career FSO		September 13, 1967	October 27, 1967	May 15, 1971
E. Ross Adair – Political appointee		May 11, 1971	July 8, 1971	February 12, 1974
Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. – Career FSO		February 20, 1975	April 3, 1975	July 6, 1976
Frederic L. Chapin – Career FSO[8]		June 27, 1978	July 21, 1978	July 29, 1980	The U.S. ambassador was recalled in July 1980 and a series of chargés maintained the embassy until June 1992.
Owen W. Roberts	Chargé d'Affaires	July 29, 1980	Unknown	May 1982
David A. Korn		June 1982		July 1985
James Cheek		July 1985		August 1988
Robert G. Houdek		August 1988		June 1991
Marc Allen Baas[9] – Career FSO[10]		June 1991		June 24, 1992
	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	June 15, 1992	June 24, 1992	July 8, 1994
Irvin Hicks – Career FSO		May 9, 1994	July 22, 1994	June 26, 1996
David H. Shinn – Career FSO		June 6, 1996	July 2, 1996	August 14, 1999
Tibor P. Nagy – Career FSO		August 9, 1999	October 12, 1999	July 19, 2002
Aurelia E. Brazeal – Career FSO		October 3, 2002	November 20, 2002	September 2, 2005
Vicki J. Huddleston	Chargé d'Affaires	September 2, 2005	Unknown	November 9, 2006
Donald Yamamoto – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	November 9, 2006	December 6, 2006	July 28, 2009
Donald E. Booth – Career FSO		April 2, 2010	May 2, 2010	August 16, 2013
Patricia M. Haslach – Career FSO		August 14, 2013	September 25, 2013	August 31, 2016
Peter H. Vrooman	Chargé d'Affaires	September 1, 2016	Unknown	July 2017
Michael A. Raynor – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	August 3, 2017	September 29, 2017	January 20, 2021[11]
David Renz – Career FSO[12]	Chargé d'Affaires	January 20, 2021	Unknown	March 5, 2021
Geeta Pasi – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	December 22, 2020	March 5, 2021[13]	February 25, 2022
Tracey Ann Jacobson – Career FSO	Chargé d'Affaires	February 25, 2022		September 25, 2023
Gwendolyn Green – Career FSO	Chargé d'Affaires	September 26, 2023		October 3, 2023
Ervin Jose Massinga	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 23, 2023	October 3, 2023	Incumbent

Notes

1. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=632570845700415&set=a.167504332207071 ^{[bare URL]}
2. https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=632570845700415&set=a.167504332207071&type=3 ^{[bare URL]}
3. Philip was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 9, 1908. He was commissioned to Abyssinia, but did not serve under this recess appointment.
4. Southard was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 19, 1927
5. Engert’s mission was terminated when Italian forces occupied Addis Ababa, May 6, 1936.
6. Caldwell’s mission was terminated on October 7, 1943, when the mission was promoted to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. Caldwell was recommissioned with the new title on the same date.
7. Merrell’s mission was terminated on May 21, 1949, when the mission was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Merrell was recommissioned with the new title on the same date.
8. Ambassador Chapin was recalled at the request of the Ethiopian government on July 29, 1980.
9. "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR MARC BAAS" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 9 November 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
10. Baas was commissioned as chargé d’affaires in 1982 and promoted to ambassador in 1992.
11. Firew, Eskinder (January 26, 2021). "Departing US Envoy Warns Ethiopia Against Violence". VOA News. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
12. "David Renz". US Embassy in Ethiopia. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
13. "UPDATE: New U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ms. Geeta Pasi Visits Tigray". Tadias Magazine. March 10, 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.

See also

• Ethiopia–United States relations
• Foreign relations of Ethiopia
• Ambassadors of the United States

References

• United States Department of State: Background Notes on Ethiopia
•  This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State. 2006

External links

• United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Ethiopia
• United States Department of State: Ethiopia
• United States Embassy in Addis Ababa