United States Ambassador to Albania
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Albania
.
Albania had been under the domination of the Ottoman Empire
since the 14th century but gained a shaky independence in 1912 after an uprising against the Turks. After suffering invasions and occupations during the First
and Second Balkan War
s and the Great War
, Albania achieved a relatively stable degree of statehood.
The United States established diplomatic relations with Albania in 1922. President Harding
appointed the first U.S. Minister to Albania, Ulysses Grant-Smith, who arrived in Tirana
in December 1922. The first envoys to Albania had the rank of Minister.
Albania–United States relations were broken in 1939 upon the Italian invasion of Albania
just prior to the start of World War II
. Relations were not restored until the downfall of Communism
in Europe in 1991.
The United States Embassy in Albania
is located in Tirana
.
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
.
Albania had been under the domination of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
since the 14th century but gained a shaky independence in 1912 after an uprising against the Turks. After suffering invasions and occupations during the First
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
and Second Balkan War
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
s and the Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Albania achieved a relatively stable degree of statehood.
The United States established diplomatic relations with Albania in 1922. President Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
appointed the first U.S. Minister to Albania, Ulysses Grant-Smith, who arrived in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
in December 1922. The first envoys to Albania had the rank of Minister.
Albania–United States relations were broken in 1939 upon the Italian invasion of Albania
Italian invasion of Albania
The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom. The conflict was a result of the imperialist policies of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini...
just prior to the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Relations were not restored until the downfall of Communism
Post-Communism
Post-communism is a name sometimes given to the period of political and economic transformation or "transition" in former Communist states located in parts of Europe and Asia, in which new governments aimed to create free market-oriented capitalist economies with some form of parliamentary...
in Europe in 1991.
The United States Embassy in Albania
U.S. Embassy, Tirana
The Embassy of the United States in Tirana is the embassy of the United States in Albania, in the capital city of Tirana. The embassy is charged with diplomacy and Albania – United States relations...
is located in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
.
Ambassadors
- Ulysses Grant-Smith – Career FSO
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 22, 1922
- Presented credentials: December 4, 1922
- Terminated mission: Left post, February 8, 1925
- Note: In 1928 the Albanian parliament declared the nation a kingdom. This change of government required a new commission for the U.S. Ambassador during his term.
- Charles C. Hart – Political appointee
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: May 27, 1925
- Presented credentials: August 1, 1925 and December 13, 1928Hart was reaccredited when Albania became a monarchy. He presented new credentials December 13, 1928
- Terminated mission: Left post, December 12, 1929
- Herman BernsteinHerman BernsteinHerman Bernstein was an American journalist, writer, translator, and diplomat.Herman Bernstein was born on September 21, 1876, in Vladislavov at that time on the Russo-German border to David and Marie Bernstein...
– Political appointee- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: February 17, 1930
- Presented credentials: April 28, 1930
- Terminated mission: Left post, September 24, 1933
- Post WheelerPost WheelerGeorge Post Wheeler was an American journalist, writer and career diplomat.-Biography: Wheeler was a foreign correspondent in Paris and Morocco following his graduation from Princeton University in 1891...
– Career FSO- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 26, 1933
- Presented credentials: November 28, 1933
- Terminated mission: Left post, November 1, 1934
- Hugh Gladney Grant – Political appointee
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 9, 1935
- Presented credentials: November 8, 1935
- Terminated mission: Left post, September 27, 1939
- Note: Italian forces occupied TiranaItalian invasion of AlbaniaThe Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom. The conflict was a result of the imperialist policies of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini...
on April 8, 1939, which effectively brought an end to the U.S. mission to Albania. The U.S. legationLegationA legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....
was officially closed on September 16, 1939.
- Note: The United States resumed diplomatic relations with Albania on March 15, 1991. Embassy Tirana was opened October 1, 1991 with Christopher R. HillChristopher R. HillChristopher Robert Hill is an American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.On July 1, 2010, Hill was chosen to be the dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver...
as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. The previous legation was raised to embassy status and the envoys would henceforth have the rank of Ambassador.
- William Edwin Ryerson – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: December 2, 1991
- Presented credentials: December 21, 1991
- Terminated mission: Left post, October 13, 1994
- Joseph Edward LakeJoseph Edward LakeJoseph Edward Lake is a former career member of the Senior Foreign Service, who, in 1990, became the first resident U.S. Ambassador to the Mongolian People's Republic . The first U.S. ambassador to Mongolia, Richard L. Williams, was not a resident there. Later, he was named U.S...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 5, 1994
- Presented credentials: October 17, 1994
- Terminated mission: Left post, March 15, 1996
- Marisa R. Lino – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 2, 1996
- Presented credentials: September 4, 1996
- Terminated mission: Left post May 20, 1999
- Joseph Limprecht – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 7, 1999
- Presented credentials: September 8, 1999
- Terminated mission: Died in northern Albania, May 19, 2002
- James Franklin JeffreyJames Franklin JeffreyJames Franklin Jeffrey is an American diplomat and the current United States Ambassador to Iraq.He was serving as the Deputy National Security Advisor in the administration of George W. Bush before being appointed to Turkey.-Biography:...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 3, 2002
- Presented credentials: October 22, 2002
- Terminated mission: Left post May 2, 2004
- Marcie B. RiesMarcie Berman RiesMarcie Berman Ries was a United States ambassador to Albania from 2004-2007. She obtained her Master's degree from the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. She is married to Charles P. Ries, a former U.S. ambassador to Greece. She left Albania in 2007 to become the...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 18, 2004
- Presented credentials: October 30, 2004
- Terminated mission: June 16, 2007
- John L. Withers, IIJohn L. Withers, IIJohn L. Withers, II is an American politician and ambassador.He attended Yale University and received a Ph.D. in modern Chinese history.Withers started his career as a Political Officer at The Hague from 1985 to 1986. He also worked in several embassies including Nigeria, Russia and Ireland.Withers...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 28, 2007
- Presented credentials: August 29, 2007
- Terminated mission: November 10, 2010
- Alexander ArvizuAlexander ArvizuAlexander A. Arvizu is a United States diplomat. He currently serves as the United States Ambassador to Albania.-Early life:Arvizu was born on U.S. Army base in Japan and is a first-generation American. His father is originally from Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico and mother was from Kyoto, Japan...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 1, 2010
- Presented credentials: November 10, 2010
- Terminated mission: Current
See also
- Albania – United States relations
- Foreign relations of AlbaniaForeign relations of AlbaniaAlbanian foreign policy has concentrated on maintaining good relations with its Balkan neighbours, gaining access to European-Atlantic security institutions, and securing close ties with the United States....
- Ambassadors of the United States