List of ambassadors of the United States to Benin

The Kingdom of Dahomey was an overseas possession of France—part of French West Africa—until 1958. In that year Dahomey became an autonomous republic, and gained full independence in 1960. The United States immediately recognized Dahomey and began the process of initiating diplomatic relations. A U.S. Embassy at Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (then named Ivory Coast) was established with Donald L. Norland as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The embassy was also accredited also to Dahomey, Niger, and Upper Volta (now named Burkina Faso) while resident at Abidjan. On July 31, 1960, Chargé Norland presented his credentials to the government of Dahomey, to take effect on August 1, 1960. On October 14, 1960, R. Borden Reams was appointed as the ambassador and presented his credentials on November 26, 1960.

Ambassador of the United States to Benin
Ambassadeur des Etats-Unis au Bénin
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Patricia Mahoney
since July 4, 2019
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderR. Borden Reams
as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
FormationOctober 14, 1960
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Cotonou

On February 15, 1961, the Embassy in Cotonou, Dahomey, was established with Converse Hettinger as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. Ambassador Reams remained resident in Abidjan.

In 1961 Robinson McIlvaine was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary with a separate commission solely to Dahomey. He presented his credentials to the government of Dahomey on June 22, 1961.

The Republic of Dahomey changed its name to Republic of Benin in 1975.

Ambassadors
  • R. Borden Reams[1][2][3] – Career FSO
  • Robinson McIlvaine – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: June 22, 1961
    • Presented credentials: July 31, 1961
    • Terminated mission: Left post, March 19, 1964
  • Clinton E. Knox – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: July 9, 1964
    • Presented credentials: August 18, 1964
    • Terminated mission: Left post, June 11, 1969
  • Matthew J. Looram, Jr. – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: May 27, 1969
    • Presented credentials: July 21, 1969
    • Terminated mission: Left post, December 3, 1971
  • Robert Anderson[4] – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: February 15, 1972
    • Presented credentials: March 25, 1972
    • Terminated mission: Left post, April 11, 1974
  • James B. Engle – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: July 23, 1974
    • Presented credentials: November 26, 1974
    • Terminated mission: Left post, February 15, 1976
  • Note: There was no ambassador present between 1976 and 1983. The embassy was represented by a series of chargés d'affaires ad interim:
    • W. Kenneth Thompson (August 1976–August 1978)
    • John S. Davidson (September 1978–May 1980)
    • James R. Bullington (June 1980–July 1982)
    • Charles H. Twining, Jr. (July 1982–October 1983)
  • George E. Moose – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: October 7, 1983
    • Presented credentials: November 4, 1983
    • Terminated mission: Left post, July 7, 1986
  • Walter Edward Stadtler – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: October 16, 1986
    • Presented credentials: November 19, 1986
    • Terminated mission: Left post, December 3, 1989
  • Harriet Winsar Isom – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: November 21, 1989
    • Presented credentials: January 26, 1990
    • Terminated mission: Left post, November 14, 1992
  • Ruth A. Davis – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: August 17, 1992
    • Presented credentials: December 24, 1992
    • Terminated mission: Left post, November 3, 1995
  • John M. Yates – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: November 3, 1995
    • Presented credentials: November 24, 1995
    • Terminated mission: Left post October 27, 1998
  • Robert C. Felder – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: October 22, 1998
    • Presented credentials: November 20, 1998
    • Terminated mission: Left post June 10, 2000
  • Pamela E. Bridgewater – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: September 15, 2000
    • Presented credentials: November 24, 2000
    • Terminated mission: Left post December 10, 2002
  • Wayne E. Neill – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: April 16, 2003
    • Presented credentials: July 4, 2003
    • Terminated mission: Left post July 22, 2006
  • Gayleatha B. Brown – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: July 5, 2006
    • Presented credentials: September 8, 2006
    • Terminated mission: Left post August 22, 2009
  • James Knight – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: August 7, 2009
    • Presented credentials: November 3, 2009
    • Terminated mission: Left post April 28, 2012
  • Michael A. Raynor – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: May 5, 2012
    • Presented credentials: September 13, 2012
    • Terminated mission: Left post May 29, 2015
  • Lucy Tamlyn – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: October 13, 2015
    • Presented credentials: November 8, 2015
    • Terminated mission: October 19, 2018
  • Patricia Mahoney – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: January 7, 2019
    • Presented credentials: July 4, 2019
    • Terminated mission: Incumbent

See also

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Department of State website https://www.state.gov/countries-areas/. (U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets)

Notes
  1. Reams was accredited to Ivory Coast, Niger, Upper Volta, and Dahomey—resident at Abidjan
  2. Superseded by a separate commission to Dahomey July 31, 1961.
  3. Reams was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on February 6, 1961.
  4. An earlier nomination of December 2, 1971, was not acted upon by the Senate.
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