United States Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau

Ambassador of the United States to Guinea-Bissau

Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
James P. Zumwalt
since March 10, 2015
Nominator Barack Obama
Inaugural holder Dean Curran
as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
Formation June 30, 1976
Website U.S. Embassy - Dakar

The United States Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau is the official representative of the President of the United States to the head of state of Guinea-Bissau. The U.S. Ambassador to Senegal is concurrently commissioned to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau.

Until 1974, Guinea-Bissau had been a colony of the Portuguese Empire as Portuguese Guinea. After a period of revolutionary warfare, Guinea-Bissau unilaterally declared its independence on September 24, 1973. Following the April 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal, it granted independence to Guinea-Bissau on September 10, 1974. The United States recognized the Republic of Guinea-Bissau on the same day. The U.S. Embassy Bissau was established on June 30, 1976, with Dean Curran as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.[1]

The first three ambassadors to Guinea-Bissau were concurrently commissioned to Cape Verde while resident in Bissau. From 1983 until 1998, U.S. ambassadors were solely commissioned to Guinea-Bissau.[2] In 1998 the U.S. embassy in Bissau was closed,[3] and there has been no U.S. embassy in Bissau since then. Since 2002, the U.S. ambassador to Senegal has also been commissioned as the ambassador to Guinea-Bissau, while resident in Dakar.

Ambassadors and chiefs of mission

U.S. diplomatic terms

Career FSO
After 1915, The United States Department of State began classifying ambassadors as career Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) for those who have served in the Foreign Service for a specified amount of time.

Political appointee
A person who is not a career foreign service officer, but is appointed by the president (often as a reward to political friends).

Appointed
The date that the ambassador took the oath of office; also known as “commissioning”. It follows confirmation of a presidential appointment by the Senate, or a Congressional-recess appointment by the president. In the case of a recess appointment, the ambassador requires subsequent confirmation by the Senate.

Presented credentials
The date that the ambassador presented his letter of credence to the head of state or appropriate authority of the receiving nation. At this time the ambassador officially becomes the representative of his country. This would normally occur a short time after the ambassador’s arrival on station. The host nation may reject the ambassador by not receiving the ambassador’s letter, but this occurs only rarely.

Terminated mission
Usually the date that the ambassador left the country. In some cases a letter of recall is presented, ending the ambassador’s commission, either as a means of diplomatic protest or because the diplomat is being reassigned elsewhere and replaced by another envoy.

Chargé d'affaires
The person in charge of the business of the embassy when there is no ambassador commissioned to the host country. See chargé d'affaires.

Ad interim
Latin phrase meaning "for the time being", "in the meantime". See ad interim.

Note: Barbara C. Maslak served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim, Jan 1985-Aug 1986.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Guinea-Bissau". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  2. ↑ "Chiefs of Mission for Guinea-Bissau". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  3. ↑ "Peggy Blackford". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  4. 1 2 3 Also accredited to Cape Verde; resident at Bissau.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Also accredited to Senegal; resident at Dakar.

See also

References

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