List of ambassadors of the United States to Sri Lanka and the Maldives
 | Parts of this article (those related to the Maldives ambassadorship) need to be updated. (December 2023) |
| Ambassador of the United States to Sri Lanka and the Maldives | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the United States Department of State | |
 | |
| Nominator | The President of the United States |
| Appointer | The President with Senate advice and consent |
| Inaugural holder | Felix Cole as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary |
| Formation | August 3, 1949 |
| Website | U.S. Embassy – Colombo |
The position of United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives has existed since 1949.[notes 1] Sri Lanka–United States relations and Maldives–United States relations have been friendly throughout the history of Sri Lanka and the history of the Maldives. The diplomatic mission representing the United States in both countries is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Jefferson House is the ambassadorial residence of the ambassador in Colombo.
United States Ambassadors to Ceylon
[edit]| # | Name | Start date | Finish date | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felix Cole | August 3, 1949 | October 30, 1949 | Harry S. Truman | |
| 2 | Joseph C. Satterthwaite | November 19, 1949 | July 25, 1953 | Harry S. Truman | |
| 3 | Maxwell Henry Gluck | September 19, 1953 | September 27, 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
| 4 | Philip K. Crowe | September 19, 1957 | October 2, 1958 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
| 5 | James Lampton Berry | November 22, 1958 | June 3, 1959 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
| 6 | Bernard Gufler | August 24, 1959 | March 1, 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
| 7 | Frances E. Willis | May 11, 1961 | September 20, 1964 | John F. Kennedy | |
| 8 | Cecil B. Lyon | October 30, 1964 | June 17, 1967 | Lyndon B. Johnson | |
| 9 | Andrew V. Corry | May 24, 1967 | March 21, 1970 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
United States Ambassadors to Sri Lanka
[edit]| # | Name | Image | Career track | Start date | Finish date | President(s) | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Robert Strausz-Hupé | Political appointee | May 3, 1970 | December 12, 1971 | Richard Nixon | ||
| 11 | Christopher Van Hollen | Career FSO | October 27, 1972 | April 21, 1976 | Richard Nixon | ||
| 12 | John H. Reed |  | Political appointee | July 2, 1976 | June 1, 1977 | Gerald Ford | |
| 13 | William Howard Wriggins | Political appointee | August 18, 1977 | December 13, 1979 | Jimmy Carter | ||
| 14 | Donald R. Toussaint | Career FSO | January 21, 1980 | January 17, 1982 | Jimmy Carter | ||
| 15 | John H. Reed | | Political appointee | February 8, 1982 | September 3, 1985 | Ronald Reagan | |
| 16 | James W. Spain | Career FSO | November 21, 1985 | June 16, 1989 | Ronald Reagan | ||
| 17 | Marion V. Creekmore, Jr. | Career FSO | November 29, 1989 | August 27, 1992 | George H. W. Bush | ||
| 18 | Teresita Currie Schaffer | Career FSO | October 7, 1992 | August 15, 1995 | George H. W. Bush | ||
| 19 | Peter Burleigh |  | Career FSO | January 19, 1996 | August 1, 1997 | Bill Clinton | |
| 20 | Shaun E. Donnelly | December 19, 1997 | August 16, 2000 | Bill Clinton | |||
| 21 | E. Ashley Wills[1] | November 13, 2000 | June 17, 2003 | Bill Clinton | |||
| 22 | Jeffrey Lunstead | September 26, 2003 | September 9, 2006 | George W. Bush | |||
| 23 | Robert O. Blake, Jr. |  | Career FSO | September 9, 2006 | May 21, 2009 | George W. Bush | |
| 24 | Patricia A. Butenis |  | Career FSO | September 17, 2009 | August 1, 2012 | Barack Obama | |
| 25 | Michele J. Sison |  | Career FSO | September 14, 2012 | December 6, 2014 | Barack Obama | |
| 26 | Atul Keshap |  | Career FSO | August 21, 2015 | July 15, 2018 | Barack Obama | |
| 27 | Alaina B. Teplitz |  | Career FSO | November 1, 2018 | December 6, 2021 | Donald Trump | |
| 28 | Julie J. Chung | | Career FSO | February 25, 2022 | Incumbent | Joe Biden |
Notes
[edit]- ^ until 1972 the name was: "United States Ambassador to Ceylon and the Maldives"
See also
[edit]- Sri Lanka – United States relations
- Maldives – United States relations
- Foreign relations of Sri Lanka
- Foreign relations of the Maldives
- Ambassadors of the United States
References
[edit]- United States Department of State: Background notes on Sri Lanka
- United States Department of State: Background notes on the Maldives
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.
- ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR E. ASHLEY WILLS" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. October 22, 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
External links
[edit]- United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Sri Lanka
- United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Maldives
- United States Department of State: Sri Lanka
- United States Department of State: Maldives
- United States Embassy in Colombo
