List of ambassadors of the United States to Albania

This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Albania. The ambassador is the head of the Embassy of the United States in Tirana.

Ambassador of the United States to Albania
Ambasadori i Shteteve të Bashkuara në Shqipëri
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Yuri Kim
since 27 January 2020
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderUlysses Grant-Smith
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationSeptember 22, 1922
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Tirana

History
See also: Albania–United States relations

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 Wars 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.

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
  • Charles C. Hart[1] – Political appointee
    • Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: May 27, 1925
    • Presented credentials: August 1, 1925 and December 13, 1928[2]
    • Terminated mission: Left post, December 12, 1929
  • Note: In 1928 the Albanian parliament declared the nation a kingdom. This change of government required a new commission for the U.S. Ambassador, Hart, during his term.
  • Herman 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 Wheeler[3] – 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 Tirana on April 8, 1939, which effectively brought an end to the U.S. mission to Albania. The U.S. legation 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. Hill 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 Lake – 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[4][5]
  • James Franklin Jeffrey – 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. Ries – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: October 18, 2004
    • Presented credentials: October 30, 2004
    • Terminated mission: June 16, 2007
  • John L. Withers, II – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: June 28, 2007
    • Presented credentials: August 29, 2007
    • Terminated mission: November 10, 2010
  • Alexander Arvizu – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: July 1, 2010
    • Presented credentials: November 10, 2010
    • Terminated mission: 2014
  • Donald Lu – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: December 16, 2014
    • Presented credentials: January 11, 2015
    • Terminated mission: September 19, 2018[6]
  • Leyla Moses-Ones[7]
    • Title: Chargé d'Affaires a.i.
    • Appointed:
    • Presented credentials:
    • Terminated mission: January 27, 2020
  • Yuri Kim - Career General
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: November 21, 2019
    • Presented Credentials: January 27, 2020
    • Terminated Mission: Incumbent

Notes
  1. Hart was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1925.
  2. Hart was reaccredited when Albania became a monarchy. He presented new credentials December 13, 1928
  3. Wheeler was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 15, 1934.
  4. Obituary, The New York Times. May 21, 2002
  5. Obituary. Los Angeles Times. May 21, 2002
  6. Bewig, Matt (June 8, 2018). "Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan: Who Is Donald Lu?". www.allgov.com. AllGov.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  7. "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Leyla Moses-Ones". September 2018. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018. NOTE: Nominee Kathleen Ann Kavalec is awaiting Senate confirmation as new Ambassador to Albania, www.state.gov/m/dghr/coc/284673.htm (Dec. 2018)

See also

References
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.