United States Ambassador to Vietnam
Encyclopedia
The United States Ambassador to Vietnam (Vietnamese language
: Đại sứ Hoa Kỳ tại Việt Nam) is the chief American diplomat to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After the First Indochina War
and the defeat of the French dominion over Vietnam
, the nation was split into North and South Vietnam at the Geneva Conference
of 1954. The United States did not recognize North Vietnam and thus had no diplomatic relations with that nation. After the reunification of Vietnam in 1976, there followed a period of 20 years in which the United States had no diplomatic relations with Vietnam.
The USA opened a Liaison Office in Hanoi
on January 28, 1995. Diplomatic relations were established July 11, 1995, and Embassy Hanoi was established with L. Desaix Anderson
as Chargé d'Affaires
ad interim.
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
: Đại sứ Hoa Kỳ tại Việt Nam) is the chief American diplomat to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
and the defeat of the French dominion over Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, the nation was split into North and South Vietnam at the Geneva Conference
Geneva Conference (1954)
The Geneva Conference was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to unify Korea and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina...
of 1954. The United States did not recognize North Vietnam and thus had no diplomatic relations with that nation. After the reunification of Vietnam in 1976, there followed a period of 20 years in which the United States had no diplomatic relations with Vietnam.
The USA opened a Liaison Office in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
on January 28, 1995. Diplomatic relations were established July 11, 1995, and Embassy Hanoi was established with L. Desaix Anderson
L. Desaix Anderson
L. Desaix Anderson is a career foreign service officer specializing in Southeast Asian affairs, and served as American Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Vietnam....
as 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...
ad interim.
Ambassadors
- Pete PetersonPete PetersonDouglas Brian "Pete" Peterson was a U.S. Air Force pilot who spent over six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese Army after his plane was shot down during the Vietnam War. He returned to Hanoi in 1997 as the first United States Ambassador to Vietnam...
– Political appointee- Appointed: April 11, 1997
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Presented credentials: May 14, 1997
- Terminated mission: Left post July 15, 2001
- Raymond Burghardt – Career FSO
- Appointed: November 28, 2001
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Presented credentials: February 5, 2002
- Terminated mission: 2004
- Michael W. Marine – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: May 6, 2004
- Presented credentials: September 10, 2004
- Terminated mission: August 10, 2007
- Michael W. MichalakMichael W. MichalakMichael W. Michalak is the former United States Ambassador to Vietnam. He was the U.S. Senior Official to APEC from November 2005 until his appointment as Ambassador to Vietnam. Prior to the APEC responsibility he was Deputy Chief of Mission to the US Embassy in Tokyo...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: May 24, 2007
- Presented credentials: August 10, 2007
- Terminated mission: Left post February 14, 2011
- Virginia E. Palmer – Career FSO
- Title: Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
- Appointed: February 14, 2011
- Presented credentials: February 14, 2011
- Terminated mission: July 2011
- David B. Shear – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 2011
- Presented credentials: Unknown
- Terminated mission: Incumbent
Residence
The house was designed by M. LaCollogne, Principal Architect and Chief of Civil Construction Service in Tonkin and built in 1921 by Indochina Public Property, part of the French colonial government, for Indochina Financial Governors who lived here until 1948. The house was then assigned, until 1954, to the highest-ranking Indochina Tariff Officer. When the French left South East Asia in 1954, Vietnamese government officials moved in. Vice Minister Phan Ke Toai was the last occupant, and at his death the house became the headquarters for the Committee for Foreign Culture Exchange. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs press office was located in the building until 1994. The residence was included in an exchange of property between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1995.See also
- United States - Vietnam relations
- Foreign relations of VietnamForeign relations of Vietnam-Soviet era:During the Vietnam War , North Vietnam balanced relations with its two major allies, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China....
- Ambassadors of the United States