United States Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo

This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to the Republic of the Congo.

From 1885 until 1960, the republic had been under the control of France as a protectorate. In 1908, France organized French Equatorial Africa (AEF), comprising its colonies of Middle Congo (modern Congo), Gabon, Chad, and Oubangui-Chari (now Central African Republic). Brazzaville was selected as the federal capital.

In 1958 Middle Congo became an autonomous colony and was renamed Republic of the Congo. The republic was granted full independence on August 15, 1960. As the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) also chose the name Republic of Congo upon receiving its independence, the two countries were more commonly known as Congo-Leopoldville and Congo-Brazzaville, after their capital cities.

The United States immediately recognized the new Republic of the Congo and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The embassy in Brazzaville was established August 15, 1960, with Alan W. Lukens as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The first ambassador, W. Wendell Blancke was appointed on November 9, 1960.

Ambassadors

W. Wendell Blancke – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: November 9, 1960
Presented credentials: December 23, 1960
Terminated mission: Left post, December 14, 1963
Henry L. T. Koren – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: April 8, 1964
Presented credentials: May 13, 1964
Terminated mission: Left post, August 4, 1965
Note: Due to civil strife and insecure conditions, the U.S. Embassy in Brazzaville was closed and all diplomatic personnel were withdrawn from the country on August 15, 1965. The embassy was reestablished on October 30, 1977, with Jay Katzen as chargé d'affaires ad interim. A new ambassador was appointed on April 26, 1979.
William L. Swing – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: April 26, 1979
Presented credentials: May 11, 1979
Terminated mission: Left post, May 30, 1981
Kenneth Lee Brown – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: December 11, 1981
Presented credentials: February 13, 1982
Terminated mission: Left post, June 10, 1984
Alan Wood Lukens – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: August 13, 1984
Presented credentials: September 22, 1984
Terminated mission: Left post, May 6, 1987
Leonard Grant Shurtleff – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: August 10, 1987
Presented credentials: September 26, 1987
Terminated mission: Left post, July 5, 1990
James Daniel Phillips – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: June 27, 1990
Presented credentials: August 23, 1990
Terminated mission: Left post, September 10, 1993
William Christie Ramsay – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: July 16, 1993
Presented credentials: September 23, 1993
Terminated mission: Left post, April 13, 1996
Aubrey Hooks – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: June 6, 1996
Presented credentials: July 11, 1996
Terminated mission: Left post January 9, 1999
David H. Kaeuper – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: November 16, 1999
Presented credentials: December 27, 1999
Terminated mission: Left post September 5, 2002
Robin Renee Sanders – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: November 15, 2002
Presented credentials: February 13, 2003
Terminated mission: July 16, 2005
Robert Weisberg – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: March 21, 2006
Presented credentials: Unknown
Terminated mission: March 2, 2008
Alan W. Eastham – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: August 22, 2008
Presented credentials: Unknown
Terminated mission: Prior to September 2010
Christopher W. Murray – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: August 23, 2010
Presented credentials: September 16, 2010
Terminated mission: August 14, 2013 
Stephanie S. Sullivan – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: August 12, 2013
Presented credentials: November 26, 2013
Terminated mission: January 20, 2017
Todd Philip Haskell – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: May 18, 2017
Presented credentials: June 26, 2017
Terminated mission: Incumbent

Notes

See also
Republic of the Congo – United States relations
Foreign relations of the Republic of the Congo
Ambassadors of the United States

References
United States Department of State: Background notes on the Republic of Congo

External links
 United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for the Republic of Congo
 United States Department of State: Republic of the Congo
 United States Embassy in Brazzaville

Congo, Republic of the
*Main
Category:Republic of the Congo-related lists
Category:Republic of the Congo–United States relations