List of ambassadors of the United States to the Bahamas
| Ambassador of the United States to the Bahamas | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the United States Department of State | |
 | |
| Nominator | The President of the United States |
| Appointer | The President with Senate advice and consent |
| Inaugural holder | Moncrieff J. Spear as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim |
| Formation | July 10, 1973 |
| Website | U.S. Embassy - Nassau |
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Bahamas, usually simply called U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, is an official position and title appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate by majority vote. The ambassador oversees diplomatic relations and foreign policy between the United States and The Bahamas. The ambassador lives in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas.
Due to political disputes, the United States Senate has not confirmed an ambassador to the Bahamas since November 2011, with the post either remaining vacant or held by interim appointees who are not ambassadors. Cassandra Butts, nominated for the post by President Barack Obama in 2013, died of leukemia in 2016, having spent more than two years awaiting a vote on her appointment. President Donald Trump nominated Doug Manchester in 2017 but the nomination stalled and he eventually withdrew.[2] In May 2020, President Trump nominated William A. Douglass for the position;[3] his nomination was eventually withdrawn by President Joe Biden in February 2021.[4] In May 2022, President Biden nominated Calvin Smyre for the position.[5] On December 18, 2024 President-elect Donald Trump announced that he had nominated Herschel Walker to serve in the role.[6]
List of U.S. ambassadors to the Bahamas
[edit]The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to The Bahamas. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
| Representative | Title | Presentation of credentials |
Termination of mission |
Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moncrieff J. Spear | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | July 10, 1973 | September 7, 1973 | Richard Nixon |
| Ronald I. Spiers | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 7, 1973 | September 2, 1974 | |
| Seymour Weiss | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 11, 1974 | December 15, 1976 | Gerald Ford |
| Jack B. Olson | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 22, 1976 | April 30, 1977 | |
| William Bernstein Schwartz Jr. | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 11, 1977 | January 31, 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| Lev E. Dobriansky | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 15, 1983 | August 30, 1986 | Ronald Reagan |
| Carol Boyd Hallett | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 17, 1986 | May 10, 1989 | |
| Mayer Jacob Hecht | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 23, 1989 | March 1, 1993 | George H. W. Bush |
| Lino Gutierrez | Chargé d'Affairs ad interim | March 1, 1993 | July 1993 | Bill Clinton |
| John S. Ford | Chargé d'Affairs ad interim | July 1993 | March 27, 1994 | |
| Sidney Williams | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 27, 1994 | January 11, 1998 | |
| Arthur Louis Schechter | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 29, 1998 | March 1, 2001 | |
| Daniel A. Clune | Charge d'Affaires ad interim | March 1, 2001 | December 3, 2001 | |
| J. Richard Blankenship | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 3, 2001 | July 18, 2003 | George W. Bush |
| Robert M. Witajewski | Chargé d'Affairs ad interim | July 18, 2003 | September 1, 2004 | |
| John D. Rood | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 1, 2004 | April 10, 2007 | |
| D. Brent Hardt | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | April 10, 2007 | October 25, 2007 | |
| Ned Siegel | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 26, 2007 | January 20, 2009 | |
| Timothy Zúñiga-Brown | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | January 20, 2009 | September 9, 2009 | Barack Obama |
| Nicole Avant | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 22, 2009 | November 21, 2011 | |
| John W. Dinkelman | Chargé d'Affaires | November 21, 2011 | July 9, 2014 | |
| Lisa A. Johnson | Chargé d'Affaires | July 9, 2014 | November 9, 2017 | |
| Donald Trump | ||||
| James Herren | Chargé d'Affaires | November 9, 2017 | March 1, 2018 | |
| Stephanie Bowers | Chargé d'Affaires | March 1, 2018 | December 31, 2020 | |
| Usha E. Pitts | Chargé d'Affaires | January 1, 2021 | April 19, 2024[7] | Joe Biden |
| Jason Crosby | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | April 19, 2024[8] | May 29, 2024 | |
| Michael P. Taylor | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | May 30, 2024 | June 24, 2024 | |
| Kimberly Furnish | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | June 24, 2024 | Incumbent |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]General references
[edit]- "U.S. Diplomatic chiefs of mission to Bahamas". The Political Graveyard. March 10, 2005. Retrieved September 6, 2007.
- United States Department of State: Background notes on the Bahamas
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.
Inline citations
[edit]- ^ "Biography – Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Kimberly Furnish". U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ "Possible pay-to-play scheme for ambassador role in Trump administration uncovered by CBS News". CBS News. November 19, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via National Archives.
- ^ "Withdrawals Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. Executive Office of the President of the United States. February 4, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
- ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". whitehouse.gov. Executive Office of the President of the United States. May 13, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
- ^ Megerian, Chris (December 17, 2024). "Former RB Herschel Walker picked as Bahamas ambassador". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
- ^ @MorningBlend (April 18, 2024). "@UshaPitts is leaving The Bahamas this week" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Jason Crosby". U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas. April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
External links
[edit]- United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Bahamas
- United States Department of State: the Bahamas
- United States Embassy in Nassau
