List of ambassadors of the United States to Venezuela
{{Short description|None}}
{{Infobox Political post
| post = Ambassador
| body = the United States to Venezuela
| nativename =
| insignia = US Department of State official seal.svg
| insigniasize = 120px
| insigniacaption = Seal of the United States Department of State
| department =
| image =
| alt =
| incumbent = John McNamara
Chargé d'affaires''
| incumbentsince = February 1, 2025
| style =
| residence =
| nominator = The President of the United States
| nominatorpost =
| appointer =
| appointerpost =
| termlength =
| inaugural = John G. A. Williamson
as Chargé d'Affaires
| formation = June 30, 1835
| last =
| abolished =
| succession =
| deputy =
| salary =
| website = [https://ve.usembassy.gov/ U.S. Embassy - Caracas]
| flag = Flag of a United States ambassador.svg
| flagcaption = Flag of a United States Ambassador
}}
The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to Venezuela. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. The ambassadors are posted at the Embassy of the United States, Caracas.
Ambassadors
| class=wikitable
! Representative ! Title ! Presentation ! Termination ! Appointed by |
| B.IrvineNational Archives, Washington. RG 59, General Records of the Department of State, Special Agents, Volume 8. T. XII, p. 119
|align=center | February 14, 1819 |align=center | June 29, 1835Died at post |
| John G. A. Williamson
| align=center | June 30, 1835 | align=center | August 7, 1840Died at post |
| A. A. Hall
| Chargé d'Affaires | align=center | September 22, 1841 | align=center | November 29, 1844 | rowspan=2 | John Tyler |
| Vespasian Ellis
| Chargé d'Affaires | align=center | November 29, 1844 | align=center | August 1, 1845 |
| Benjamin G. Shields
| Chargé d'Affaires | align=center | August 1, 1845 | align=center | January 2, 1850 |
| I. Nevitt Steele
| Chargé d'Affaires | align=center | January 7, 1850 | align=center | October 18, 1853 |
| rowspan=2 | Charles Eames
| Chargé d'Affaires | align=center | May 23, 1854 | align=center | September 2, 1854 | rowspan=2 | Franklin Pierce |
| Minister Resident
| align=center | September 2, 1854 | align=center | September 14, 1858 |
| Edward A. Turpin
| Minister Resident | align=center | September 21, 1858 | align=center | November 16, 1861 |
| Henry T. Blow
| Minister Resident | align=center | June 8, 1861Never presented credentials | align=center | February 22, 1862 | rowspan=2 | Abraham Lincoln |
| Erastus D. Culver
| Minister Resident | align=center | October 7, 1862 | align=center | May 17, 1866 |
| James Wilson
| Minister Resident | align=center | October 10, 1866 | align=center | August 8, 1867 | rowspan=2 | Andrew Johnson |
| Thomas N. Stilwell
| Minister Resident | align=center | December 16, 1867 | align=center | June 7, 1868 |
| James R. Partridge
| Minister Resident | align=center | July 8, 1869 | align=center | May 9, 1870 | rowspan=3 | Ulysses S. Grant |
| William A. Pile
| Minister Resident | align=center | October 9, 1871 | align=center | January 9, 1874 |
| Thomas Russell
| Minister Resident | align=center | July 4, 1874 | align=center | January 29, 1877Venezuelan government refused to have further dealings with him. |
| Jehu Baker
| Minister Resident | align=center | March 18, 1878 | align=center | September 5, 1881 |
| George W. Carter
| Minister Resident | align=center | September 1881 | align=center | May 16, 1882 |
| rowspan=2 | Jehu Baker
| Minister Resident | align=center | May 16, 1882 | align=center | July 7, 1884 | Rutherford B. HayesBecause Baker had not presented a letter of recall in 1881, he resumed his functions as Minister Resident on May 16, 1882 without reaccreditation under his original appointment. |
| Minister Resident/Consul General
| align=center | July 7, 1884 | align=center | June 20, 1885 |
| rowspan=2 | Charles L. Scott
| Minister Resident/Consul General | align=center | June 24, 1885 | align=center | September 18, 1888 | rowspan=2 | Grover Cleveland |
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
| align=center | September 18, 1888 | align=center | January 18, 1889 |
| William L. Scruggs
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | May 30, 1889 | align=center | December 15, 1892 |
| Frank C. Partridge
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | March 4, 1893 | align=center | January 9, 1894 | rowspan=3 | Grover Cleveland |
| Seneca Haselton
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | July 14, 1894 | align=center | May 1, 1895 |
| Allen Thomas
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | July 22, 1895 | align=center | June 30, 1897 |
| Francis B. Loomis
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | October 6, 1897 | align=center | March 25, 1901Recall requested by Venezuelan government | rowspan=2 | William McKinley |
| Herbert W. Bowen
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | August 24, 1901 | align=center | May 1, 1905 |
| William W. Russell
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | August 22, 1905 | align=center | March 8, 1908 | rowspan=2 | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Jacob Sleeper
| Chargé d'Affaires ad interimThe U.S. severed relations with Venezuela on June 20, 1908 | align=center | March 8, 1908 | align=center | March 15, 1909 |
| William W. Russell
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | March 15, 1909 | align=center | March 24, 1910 | rowspan=3 | William H. Taft |
| John W. Garrett
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | March 30, 1911 | align=center | October 21, 1911 |
| Elliott Northcott
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | February 14, 1912 | align=center | June 3, 1913 |
| Preston Buford McGoodwin
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | October 22, 1913 | align=center | October 5, 1921 |
| Willis C. Cook
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | February 1, 1922 | align=center | May 7, 1929 |
| George T. Summerlin
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | February 21, 1930 | align=center | January 15, 1935 |
| Meredith Nicholson
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | April 22, 1935 | align=center | April 14, 1938 | rowspan=3 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Antonio C. Gonzalez
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | align=center | May 18, 1938 | align=center | February 8, 1939 |
| Frank P. Corrigan
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | August 14, 1939 | align=center | September 5, 1947 |
| Walter J. Donnelly
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | December 1, 1947 | align=center | September 2, 1950 | rowspan=3 | Harry S. Truman |
| Norman Armour
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | December 7, 1950 | align=center | October 2, 1951 |
| Fletcher Warren
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | November 21, 1951 | align=center | March 24, 1956 |
| Dempster McIntosh
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | April 26, 1956 | align=center | December 27, 1957 | rowspan=2 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Edward J. Sparks
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | March 19, 1958 | align=center | April 15, 1961 |
| Teodoro Moscoso
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | May 23, 1961 | align=center | November 21, 1961 | rowspan=2 | John F. Kennedy |
| C. Allan Stewart
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | March 14, 1962 | align=center | November 28, 1964 |
| Maurice M. Bernbaum
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | March 4, 1965 | align=center | July 9, 1969 |
| Robert M. McClintock
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | July 7, 1970 | align=center | March 14, 1975 |
| Harry W. Shlaudeman
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | May 9, 1975 | align=center | May 14, 1976 | rowspan=2 | Gerald Ford |
| Viron P. Vaky
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | July 26, 1976 | align=center | June 24, 1978 |
| William H. Luers
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | October 9, 1978 | align=center | June 28, 1982 |
| George W. Landau
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | August 25, 1982 | align=center | June 4, 1985 | rowspan=2 | Ronald Reagan |
| Otto J. Reich
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | June 6, 1986 | align=center | July 17, 1989 |
| Kenneth N. Skoug, Jr.
| Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | align=center | July 17, 1989 | align=center | September 1990 | rowspan=3 | George H. W. Bush |
| Robert C. Felder
| Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | align=center | September 1990 | align=center | November 19, 1990 |
| Michael Martin Skol
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | November 19, 1990 | align=center | August 23, 1993 |
| Jeffrey Davidow
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | October 1, 1993 | align=center | May 16, 1996 | rowspan=4 | Bill Clinton |
| John F. Keane{{cite web | url = http://www.nndb.com/gov/462/000120102/ | title = US Ambassador to Venezuela | year = 2007 | access-date = 2007-08-27 | publisher = NNDB }}
| Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | align=center | May 1996 | align=center | March 1997 |
| John Francis Maisto
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | March 21, 1997 | align=center | August 7, 2000 |
| Donna Jean Hrinak
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | August 25, 2000 | align=center | January 23, 2002 |
| Charles S. Shapiro
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | March 19, 2002 | align=center | August 31, 2004 | rowspan=4 | George W. Bush |
| William Brownfield
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | October 15, 2004Date of Brownfield’s appointment, rather than of Presentation of Credentials. | align=center | July 2007 |
| Patrick DuddyAmbassador Duddy was declared persona non grata and expelled by the Venezuelan government in September 2008. He was returned to his post by mutual agreement of the U.S. and Venezuelan governments in 2009. Duddy completed his tour in July 2010. {{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35766.htm|title=Background Note: Venezuela|publisher=United States Department of State|access-date=2011-07-04}}
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | October 29, 2007Date of Duddy’s swearing in, rather than of Presentation of Credentials. | align=center | September 6, 2008{{cite web | url = http://ultimahora.publico.clix.pt/noticia.aspx?id=1342548 | title = Estados Unidos expulsam embaixador venezuelano | year = 2008 | access-date = 2008-09-12 | publisher = Público }} |
| John Caulfield
| Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | align=center | September 6, 2008{{Cite web |url=http://venezuela.usembassy.gov/?b=14&lang=en |title=Deputy Chief of Mission :: U.S. Embassy, Venezuela :: |access-date=2008-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527133221/http://venezuela.usembassy.gov/?b=14&lang=en |archive-date=2010-05-27 |url-status=dead }} | align=center | July 1, 2009 {{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/91891.htm |access-date=April 28, 2010 |title=Patrick Duddy|date=10 September 2007 |publisher=United States Department of State }} |
| Patrick Duddy
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | align=center | July 16, 2010 |
| Phil Laidlaw
| Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | align=center | July 16, 2010 {{Cite web|url=http://apnews.myway.com/article/20110101/D9KFO2BG0.html|title = HeadlineAlley}} | align=center | July 9, 2014 | |
| M. Lee McClenny
| Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | align=center | July 9, 2014 {{cite web |url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2014/07/10/us-reestablishing-direct-diplomatic-relations-with-venezuela/|title=U.S. Re-Establishing Direct Diplomatic Relations With Venezuela - More 'Productive' That Way |website=Fox News Latino | date=2014-07-10 |access-date=2016-11-23}} | align=center | December 15, 2017{{cite web | url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/mcclenny-lee | title=Lee McClenny - People - Department History - Office of the Historian }} | |
| Larry Leon PalmerOn June 28, 2010, President Obama had nominated Ambassador Palmer for the post and the government of Venezuela had agreed, but December 20, 2010 the Venezuelan government revoked agreement for Ambassador-designate Palmer, which had been issued in May. {{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35766.htm|title=Background Note: Venezuela|publisher=United States Department of State|access-date=2011-07-04}}
|Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |Not commissioned |align=center|— |
| Todd D. Robinson
|Chargé d'Affaires ad interim |December 18, 2017 | rowspan=2 | Donald Trump |
| James B. Story
|Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |July 2018 |
| Francisco Palmieri
|Chief of Mission |May 19, 2023 |January 20, 2025 |
| Michael A. Barkin
|Chargé d'Affaires ad interim |January 20, 2025 |February 1, 2025 | rowspan=2 | Donald Trump |
| John McNamara
|Chargé d'Affaires ad interim |February 1, 2025 |Incumbent |
See also
References
;Specific
{{reflist|30em}}
;General
- [https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35766.htm United States Department of State: Background notes on Venezuela]
- {{StateDept}}
External links
- [https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/chiefsofmission/venezuela United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Venezuela]
- [https://2009-2017.state.gov/p/wha/ci/ve/ United States Department of State: Venezuela]
- [https://ve.usembassy.gov/ United States Embassy in Caracas]
{{Ambassadors of the United States}}