United States Ambassador to Burma
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Burma. In 1989 the military government of Burma changed the name of the nation to Myanmar
, but the United States government—and other Western governments—do not accept the name and still refer to the country as Burma in official usage.
Burma became a province of India in 1886 under the British Raj
. The country was occupied by Japan during World War II
but after the war, again came under control of Britain. In 1946 Britain began negotiations with the Burmese to establish independence for the nation, and reached a final agreement on January 27, 1947. A transitional government was established and Burma became fully independent on January 4, 1948.
The United States recognized
Burma and established an embassy in Rangoon on September 19, 1947, with Earl L. Packer
as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.
After 1990 the United States appointed no ambassador to Burma in protest against the policies of the military regime. The US has not had an ambassador to Burma since 1990. A chargé d'affaires
has been the head of mission since then.
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, but the United States government—and other Western governments—do not accept the name and still refer to the country as Burma in official usage.
Burma became a province of India in 1886 under the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. The country was occupied by Japan during 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...
but after the war, again came under control of Britain. In 1946 Britain began negotiations with the Burmese to establish independence for the nation, and reached a final agreement on January 27, 1947. A transitional government was established and Burma became fully independent on January 4, 1948.
The United States recognized
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
Burma and established an embassy in Rangoon on September 19, 1947, with Earl L. Packer
Earl L. Packer
Earl Le Noir Packer served as the first Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Burma from September 19, 1947 when Embassy Rangoon was established, to October 17, 1947.-External links:...
as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.
After 1990 the United States appointed no ambassador to Burma in protest against the policies of the military regime. The US has not had an ambassador to Burma since 1990. A chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
has been the head of mission since then.
Ambassadors
- J. Klahr HuddleJ. Klahr HuddleJerome Klahr Huddle of Ohio served as United States Ambassador to Burma from October 1947 to November 1949.-External links:* http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 17, 1947
- Presented credentials: March 3, 1948
- Terminated mission: Relinquished charge November 28, 1949
- David McK. KeyDavid McK. KeyDavid McK. Key of Tennessee, a descendant of David M. Key, served as United States Ambassador to Burma from March 1950 to October 1951, and later as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs of the State Department.-External links:*...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: March 17, 1950
- Presented credentials: April 26, 1950
- Terminated mission: Left post, October 28, 1951
- William J. SebaldWilliam J. SebaldWilliam J. Sebald served as United States Ambassador to Burma from April 1952 to July 1954, and to Australia from 1957 to 1961.-External links:*...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: April 25, 1952
- Presented credentials: July 18, 1952
- Terminated mission: Left post, July 15, 1954
- Joseph C. SatterthwaiteJoseph C. SatterthwaiteJoseph Charles Satterthwaite of Michigan was a career diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Head of the U.S. Legation at Tangier from 1953 to 1955, and as United States Ambassador to Burma from April 1955 to April 1957. He then served as the first Assistant Secretary of...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: April 4, 1955
- Presented credentials: May 10, 1955
- Terminated mission: Left post, April 1, 1957
- Walter P. McConaughyWalter P. McConaughyWalter Patrick McConaughy, Jr. was a career American diplomat. McConaughy attended Duke University, graduating in 1930. Afterwards, he worked in the US State Department, and was posted to Hong Kong around 1950...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: May 20, 1957
- Presented credentials: August 20, 1957
- Terminated mission: Left post, November 2, 1959
- William P. SnowWilliam P. SnowWilliam P. Snow of Maine served as United States Ambassador to Burma from November 1959 to May 1961, and to Paraguay from 1961 to 1967, appointed by John F. Kennedy.-External links:* http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 9, 1959
- Presented credentials: December 1, 1959
- Terminated mission: Left post, May 4, 1961
- John Scott EvertonJohn Scott EvertonJohn Scott Everton was an American college president and diplomat.He was educated at Colgate University Divinity School, Cambridge, and Yale. He worked on the research staff at the Ford Foundation....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: May 4, 1961
- Presented credentials: June 10, 1961
- Terminated mission: Left post, May 21, 1963
- Henry A. ByroadeHenry A. ByroadeBrigadier General Henry Alfred Byroade, United States Army of Indiana was a career diplomat who served as Ambassador to Egypt in 1955 and 1956 and later to five other countries, including United States Ambassador to Burma from September 1963 to June 1968, and served as Assistant Secretary of State...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 10, 1963
- Presented credentials: October 7, 1963
- Terminated mission: Left post, June 11, 1968
- Arthur W. Hummel, Jr.Arthur W. Hummel, Jr.Arthur William Hummel, Jr. was a United States diplomat.-Early life:He was born in Fenzhou, Shanxi, China, to Christian missionaries Arthur W. Hummel, Sr. and Ruth Bookwalter Hummel. His family moved to Beijing when he was 4. In 1927, when he was 7, the Northern Expedition forced his family to...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 26, 1968
- Presented credentials: October 1968
- Terminated mission: Left post, July 22, 1971
- Edwin W. MartinEdwin W. MartinEdwin W. Martin was an American diplomat. After his education at Deerfield Academy, Oberlin College, and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, he embarked upon a career in the U.S. Foreign Service. He went on to serve as consul in Hong Kong and U.S...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 10, 1971
- Presented credentials: October 1, 1971
- Terminated mission: Left post, November 20, 1973
- David L. OsbornDavid L. OsbornDavid Lawrence Osborn of Tennessee served as Consul General of the United States of America Hong Kong and Macau from August 1970 to March 1974, and as United States Ambassador to Burma from March 1974 to July 1977, immediately following Edwin W. Martin in both positions.-External links:*...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: February 28, 1974
- Presented credentials: March 22, 1974
- Terminated mission: Left post, July 25, 1977
- Note: Osborn and subsequent ambassadors were commissioned to the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma.
- Maurice Darrow BeanMaurice Darrow BeanMaurice Darrow Bean of California served as United States Ambassador to Burma from September 1977 to August 1979.-External links:* http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 19, 1977
- Presented credentials: November 8, 1977
- Terminated mission: Left post, August 10, 1979
- Patricia M. ByrnePatricia M. ByrnePatricia Mary Byrne of Ohio served as United States Ambassador to Burma from November 1979 to September 1983.-External links:**...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 27, 1979
- Presented credentials: January 14, 1980
- Terminated mission: Left post, September 14, 1983
- Daniel Anthony O'DonohueDaniel Anthony O'DonohueDaniel Anthony O'Donohue of Virginia served as United States Ambassador to Burma from November 1983 to December 1986, and to Thailand, July 11, 1988 to August 10, 1991.-External links:* http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 14, 1983
- Presented credentials: December 26, 1983
- Terminated mission: Left post, December 16, 1986
- Burton LevinBurton LevinBurton Levin is the SIT Investment Visiting Professor of Asian Policy at Carleton College. He earned his MA in International Affairs at Columbia University and went on to work in the Foreign Service...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: April 7, 1987
- Presented credentials: May 26, 1987
- Terminated mission: Left post, September 30, 1990
- Note: No ambassador was appointed to replace Levin, and there has been no U.S. ambassador in Burma since then. The U.S. has been represented by a succession of chargés d’affaires ad interim.
Chargés d’Affaires
- Franklin P. Huddle, Jr. (September 1990–September 1994)
- Marilyn MeyersMarilyn MeyersMarilyn Meyers served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Burma from September 1994 to October 1996.-External links:* http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm...
(September 1994–October 1996) - Kent M. WiedemannKent M. WiedemannKent M. Wiedemann served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Burma from October 1996 to May 1999, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs....
(October 1996–May 1999) - Priscilla A. ClappPriscilla A. ClappPriscilla A. Clapp is a United States diplomat who served as Chief of Mission in Burma from July 1999 to August 2002.-External links:* http://www.nndb.com/lists/236/000069029/* http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm...
(July 1999–August 2002) - Carmen Maria MartinezCarmen Maria MartinezCarmen Maria Martinez is a United States diplomat and a career foreign service officer. She served as the United States Ambassador to Zambia 2005–2008. Prior to that assignment, she was the Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Burma from August 2002 to August 2005. Burma has had no U.S...
(August 2002–August 2005) - Shari VillarosaShari VillarosaShari Villarosa is a United States diplomat and career foreign service officer. She served as the chargé d'affaires for the United States Embassy in Rangoon, August 2005 to September 2008...
(August 2005–September 2008) - Larry M. Dinger (September 2008–present)
Uncompleted appointments
- Frederick VreelandFrederick VreelandFrederick Vreeland of New York was nominated in 1990 as United States Ambassador to Burma, however his nomination was not acted upon by the United States Senate. He instead served as ambassador to Morocco.-External links:...
was nominated to the ambassadorial post by President Bush in 1990, but the Senate declined to act on the nomination. - Parker W. BorgParker W. BorgParker W. Borg is a former professor at the American University of Rome and is a former United States Ambassador to Mali and Iceland....
was nominated by President Clinton on July 22, 1991, but the Senate declined to act on the nomination. - Michael J. Green was nominated by President Bush in 2008 to fulfill a special envoyEnvoyEnvoy may refer to:*an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary*a Special Envoy*a diplomat in general*Envoy , the British Vauxhall cars for Canadian market in 1960-'70*Envoy , a document reader and document file format...
position delegated by the Tom LantosTom LantosThomas Peter "Tom" Lantos was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 until his death, representing the northern two-thirds of San Mateo County and a portion of southwest San Francisco...
Block Burma JADE Act, but the nomination was not voted on by the end of the Bush Administration.
See also
- Burma – United States relations
- Foreign relations of Burma
- Ambassadors of the United States