List of ambassadors of the United States to India

The United States ambassador to India is the chief diplomatic representative of United States in India. The U.S. ambassador's office is situated at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.

Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of India
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Eric Garcetti since May 11, 2023[1]
Appointer	The President with the advice and consent of the Senate
Inaugural holder	George R. Merrell (as Chargé d'affaires ad interim)
Formation	November 1, 1946
Website	in.usembassy.gov

On March 15, 2023, Eric Garcetti was confirmed as ambassador. He was sworn in on March 24, 2023, and presented his credentials to President Droupadi Murmu on May 11, 2023.^[2]

Chiefs of mission to India

U.S. ambassadors to the Dominion of India (1947–1950)

President George Washington, on November 19, 1792, nominated Benjamin Joy of Newbury Port as the first American Consul to Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) and later commissioned Joy to that office on November 21, 1792.^[3]

Name	Status	Title	Appointment	Credentials presented	Termination of mission	Notes
Henry F. Grady	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	April 10, 1947	July 1, 1947	Left post, June 22, 1948	Accredited also to Nepal; resident at New Delhi.
Loy W. Henderson	Foreign Service officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 14, 1948	November 19, 1948	Re-accredited when India became a republic; presented new credentials February 24, 1950	Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on March 2, 1949. Also accredited to Nepal; resident at New Delhi.

U.S. ambassadors to the Republic of India (1950–present)

Ambassador Richard Verma meeting with Maneka Gandhi in 2015

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump with Ambassador Kenneth Juster at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi in 2018

Name	Status	Title	Appointment	Credentials presented	Termination of mission	Notes
Loy W. Henderson	Foreign Service officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary		February 24, 1950	September 21, 1951	Reaccredited when India became a republic; presented new credentials Feb 24, 1950; left post Sep 21, 1951; commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Mar 2, 1949. Also accredited to Nepal; resident at New Delhi.
Chester Bowles	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	October 10, 1951	November 1, 1951	Left post, Mar 23, 1953	Also accredited to Nepal; resident at New Delhi.
George V. Allen	Foreign Service officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	March 11, 1953	May 4, 1953	Left post, November 30, 1954	Also accredited to Nepal; resident at New Delhi.
John Sherman Cooper	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	February 4, 1955	April 9, 1955	Left post, April 23, 1956	Also accredited to Nepal; resident at New Delhi.
Ellsworth Bunker	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	November 28, 1956	March 4, 1957	Left India, March 23, 1961	Also accredited to Nepal; resident at New Delhi. Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on January 25, 1957.
John Kenneth Galbraith	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	March 29, 1961	April 18, 1961	Left post, Jul 12, 1963
Chester Bowles	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	May 3, 1963	July 19, 1963	Left post, April 21, 1969
Kenneth B. Keating	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	May 1, 1969	July 2, 1969	Left post, July 26, 1972
Daniel P. Moynihan	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	February 8, 1973	February 28, 1973	Left post, January 7, 1975
William B. Saxbe	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	February 3, 1975	March 8, 1975	Left post, November 20, 1976
Robert F. Goheen	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	April 26, 1977	May 26, 1977	Left post, December 10, 1980
Harry G. Barnes Jr.	Foreign Service officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	October 1, 1981	November 17, 1981	Left post, June 27, 1985
John Gunther Dean	Foreign Service officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	August 2, 1985	September 6, 1985	Left post November 7, 1988
John R. Hubbard	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	November 22, 1988	December 27, 1988	Left post November 15, 1989	Commissioned during a recess of the Senate.
William Clark Jr.	Foreign Service officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	October 10, 1989	December 22, 1989	Left post, July 2, 1992
Thomas R. Pickering	Foreign Service officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	April 6, 1992	August 14, 1992	Left post, March 23, 1993	Kenneth Brill served as Chargé d'affaires ad interim, March 1993 – August 1994.
Frank G. Wisner	Foreign Service officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	June 9, 1994	August 2, 1994	Left post, July 12, 1997
Richard Frank Celeste	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	November 10, 1997	November 28, 1997	Left post April 25, 2001
Robert Blackwill	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 12, 2001	September 14, 2001	Left post July 31, 2003
David Campbell Mulford	Non-career officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	December 12, 2003	February 23, 2004	Left post January 15, 2009[4]
Peter Burleigh	Foreign Service officer[5]	Chargé d'affaires	January 15, 2009		August 11, 2009
Timothy J. Roemer	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 23, 2009[6]	August 11, 2009	Left post June 30, 2011
Peter Burleigh	Foreign Service officer[5]	Chargé d'affaires	July 1, 2011		April 19, 2012
Nancy Jo Powell	Foreign Service officer	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	February 7, 2012	April 19, 2012	May 21, 2014
Kathleen Stephens	Foreign Service officer (interim)	Chargé d'affaires	May 22, 2014	June 6, 2014[7]	January 16, 2015	Assumed position after resignation of Nancy Jo Powell.
Richard Verma	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	December 12, 2014	January 16, 2015	January 20, 2017	First U.S. Ambassador to India of Indian origin.[8]
MaryKay Carlson	Foreign Service officer (interim)	Chargé d'affaires	January 20, 2017		November 15, 2017	Assumed office after Ambassador Richard Verma demitted office following President Trump's inauguration on January 20.
Kenneth Juster	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	November 3, 2017	November 23, 2017	January 20, 2021
Donald Heflin	Foreign Service officer (interim)	Chargé d'affaires	January 20, 2021		April 30, 2021	Minister-Counselor for Consular Affairs.[9]
Daniel Bennett Smith	Foreign Service officer (interim)	Chargé d'affaires	April 30, 2021		June 29, 2021	[10][11]
Atul Keshap	Foreign Service officer (interim)	Chargé d'affaires	June 29, 2021		September 9, 2021	[12]
Patricia A. Lacina	Foreign Service officer (interim)	Chargé d'affaires	September 9, 2021		October 24, 2022	[13]
A. Elizabeth Jones	Foreign Service officer (interim)	Chargé d'affaires	October 24, 2022		April 11, 2023	[14]
Eric Garcetti	Non-career appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	March 15, 2023	May 11, 2023	Present	In July 2021, Joe Biden nominated Garcetti. When the nomination expired in 2023, Biden once again nominated Garcetti.

See also

• Embassy of India, Washington, D.C.
• India–United States relations
• List of ambassadors of India to the United States
• Foreign relations of India
• Ambassadors of the United States

References

1. "U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti Presents Credentials". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India. May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
2. "VP Kamala Harris swears in ex-LA Mayor Eric Garcetti as US ambassador to India". Los Angeles Daily News. March 24, 2023.
3. "U.S. Consulate General Kolkata". Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
4. "David Campbell Mulford - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
5. "Albert Peter Burleigh - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
6. "Obama names ambassador nominees". Retrieved May 20, 2023.
7. "United States Chargé d'Affaires, Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, Arrives in New Delhi". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India. June 6, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
8. "Rich Verma confirmed as US ambassador to India - Hindustan Times". December 10, 2014. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
9. Deputy chief of mission Edgard Kagan was appointed Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the U.S. National Seucity Council in January 2021.
10. "Appointment of Ambassador Daniel Smith as Chargé d'Affaires at Embassy New Delhi". United States Department of State. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
11. "Appointment of Ambassador Atul Keshap as Chargé d'Affaires at Embassy New Delhi". United States Department of State. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
12. Lakshman, Sriram; Haidar, Suhasini (June 29, 2021). "Seasoned South Asia diplomat Atul Keshap appointed next U.S. Chargé D'affaires in India". The Hindu. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
13. "Patricia Lacina assumes office as Chargé d'Affaires at US Embassy". Outlook India. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
14. "Appointment of Ambassador Elizabeth Jones as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim at Embassy New Delhi".

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

Sources

• Brands, H. W. Inside the Cold War: Loy Henderson and the Rise of the American Empire 1918-1961 (1991) pp 196–230; Loy Henderson was US Ambassador, 1948–51

Primary sources

• Bowles, Chester (1969). A View from New Delhi: Selected Speeches and Writings, 1963-1969. Yale U.P. ISBN 0300105460., US ambassador 1951-53 and 1963–69
• Galbraith, John K. Ambassador's journal: a personal account of the Kennedy years (1969) online, he was US ambassador to India 1961-63
• U.S. Department of State. Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS), many volumes of primary sources; the complete texts of these large books are all online. See Guide to FRUS. For example, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971 was published in 2005 and is online here. The most recent volumes are Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–7, Documents on South Asia, 1969–1972 (2005) online here and Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–8, Documents on South Asia, 1973–1976 (2007) online here. Included are the most important cables sent by the ambassador to Washington.

External links

• Official website