List of ambassadors of the United States to Libya

The United States ambassador to Libya is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Libya.

Ambassador of the United States to Libya
سفارة الولايات المتحدة الأميركية في ليبيا
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Jeremy Berndt
Chargé d’Affaires ad interim[1]
since October 9, 2023
ResidenceTripoli
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderHenry Serrano Villard
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationFebruary 7, 1952
WebsiteU.S. Embassy – Tripoli

History

Until its independence in 1951, Libya had been a colony of Italy (1912–1947) and then under British and French occupation until 1951. In 1949 The UN General Assembly had passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952 (Resolution 289). On December 24, 1951, Libya declared its independence under King Idris.[2][3]

The United States recognized the Kingdom of Libya on December 24, 1951, in a congratulatory message sent by President Harry Truman to King Idris I. Diplomatic relations were established on the same day and the U.S. Consulate-General was elevated to a legation with Andrew Lynch designated as Charge d'Affaires ad interim. The first official envoy to Libya was Henry Serrano Villard, who presented his credentials on March 6, 1952.[2][3]

On December 2, 1979, a mob attacked and burned the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli. On December 29, the U.S. Department of State designated Libya as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Chargé d’Affaires was recalled on February 8, 1980 and the embassy was closed May 2, 1980.[3][4][5] However, diplomatic relations were not formally severed.[2] Diplomatic relations were not resumed until 2006.

The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli was closed and all diplomatic personnel were evacuated on February 25, 2011, due to the Libyan civil war.[6][7][8][9] The embassy of Hungary in Tripoli acted as the protecting power for U.S. interests from the closure of the embassy until its reopening on September 22, 2011.[10][11]

On July 15, U.S. Secretary of State Clinton announced that the U.S. Government recognizes the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council as the "legitimate governing authority" of Libya—which de facto withdraws recognition from the Gaddafi government.[12][13][14] On September 12, 2012 the US ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack on the Benghazi consulate, along with three other embassy employees.[15][16]

The U.S Embassy was again evacuated and closed on July 26, 2014. Embassy staff totaling approximately 150 personnel, including about 80 U.S Marines, were evacuated overland to Tunisia during a military assisted departure. USAF F-16's provided armed overwatch for the embassy convoy as they drove through Libya. The evacuation was due to major fighting around the embassy related to the 2014 Libyan Civil War.[17]

However, the United States did not sever diplomatic relations with Libya. Working from the U.S. Embassies in Valletta, Malta and, after August 2015, Tunis, Tunisia under the authority of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, U.S. diplomats in the Libya External Affairs Office maintained regular dialogue with the provisional Libyan Government.[18]

Ambassadors and chiefs of mission
Name Title Appointed Presented credentials Terminated mission Notes
Andrew Green Lynch – Career FSO[19] Chargé d'Affaires a.i. December 24, 1951 — [20] Superseded by Ambassador Villard, March 6, 1952
Henry Serrano Villard – Career FSO Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary February 7, 1952 March 6, 1952 June 24, 1954 John Newton Gatch was serving as Chargé d’Affaires a.i. when the U.S. legation in Libya was raised to Embassy status on September 25, 1954.
John L. Tappin – Political appointee[21] Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 25, 1954 November 16, 1954 Superseded by Ambassador Jones March 17, 1958
John Wesley Jones – Career FSO February 5, 1958 March 17, 1958 Left Libya December 20, 1962
Edwin Allan Lightner – Career FSO May 3, 1963 May 27, 1963 June 30, 1965
David D. Newsom – Career FSO July 22, 1965 October 16, 1965 June 21, 1969
Joseph Palmer II – Career FSO July 8, 1969 October 9, 1969 November 7, 1972
Harold G. Josif Chargé d'Affaires ad interim November 1972 December 1973
Robert A. Stein December 1973 December 1974
Robert Carle January 1975 August 1978
William L. Eagleton August 1978 February 8, 1980 Recalled February 8, 1980 following breakdown of diplomatic relations.
The U.S. Embassy at Tripoli closed May 2, 1980. However, diplomatic relations were not formally severed.[2] The United States established an Interests Section at the Belgian Embassy in Tripoli, February 8, 2004. It became the U.S. Liaison Office on June 28, with Gregory L. Berry as the Principal Officer. On May 31, 2006, the U.S. resumed full diplomatic relations with Libya, and the Interests Section in Tripoli became an embassy, with Gregory L. Berry as Charge d'Affaires ad interim.[2]
Gregory L. Berry – Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim May 31, 2006 –[20] October 10, 2006
Charles O. Cecil – Career FSO November 15, 2006 —[20] July 11, 2007
Gene A. Cretz – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary December 17, 2008 January 11, 2009[4][22] May 15, 2012[23]
J. Christopher Stevens[24] – Career FSO May 22, 2012 June 7, 2012[25] September 12, 2012. Stevens was killed in a terrorist attack on the U.S consulate in Benghazi.
Laurence Pope – Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim October 11, 2012 [26] — January 4, 2013
William Roebuck – Career FSO January 4, 2013 — May 2013
Deborah K. Jones – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 2013 June 20, 2013 November 19, 2015
Peter W. Bodde – Career FSO November 19, 2015 January 21, 2016[27] June 20, 2018[28]
Richard B. Norland – Career FSO August 1, 2019 August 8, 2019 September 8, 2022[29]
Leslie Ordeman - Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim September 8, 2022 August 23, 2023
Richard B. Norland – Career FSO Special Envoy and Chargé d'Affaires ad interim August 24, 2023 October 9, 2023
Jeremy Berndt - Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim October 9, 2023 Incumbent

Notes
  1. https://ly.usembassy.gov/charge-daffaires-jeremy-berndt/
  2. "Libya". United States Department of State. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  3. "Background Note: Libya". United States Department of State. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  4. "U.S.-Libyan Relations". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  5. "About Us". United States Department of State, U.S. Embassy Tripoli. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  6. "U.S. Embassy Tripoli Warden Message – Immediate Evacuation Information". United States Department of State, U.S. Embassy Tripoli. February 26, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  7. "U.S. Citizens Evacuated Libya". United States Department of State, Consulate General of the United States, Istanbul. February 25, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  8. "U.S. diplomat says embassy security 'not the best' in Tripoli". CNN. February 26, 2011. Archived from the original on November 21, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  9. "U.S. closes embassy in Tripoli, prepares sanctions". The Washington Post. February 25, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  10. "Libya Travel Update". United States Department of State, U.S. Embassy Tripoli. July 19, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  11. "U.S. Embassy Reopens in a Free Libya". United States Department of State, U.S. Embassy Tripoli. September 22, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
  12. "U.S. recognizes Libyan Rebel Group". The Wall Street Journal. July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  13. "US formally recognizes Libya rebels". The Denver Post. July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  14. "US recognizes Libyan rebels as Libyan government". Yahoo.com. July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  15. "BBC News – US ambassador 'killed in Libya'". BBC Online. September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  16. "Ambassador – Embassy of the United States Tripoli, Libya". United States Foreign Service. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  17. Ansari, By Barbara Starr, Joe Sterling and Azadeh (July 26, 2014). "U.S. Embassy in Libya evacuates personnel". CNN. Retrieved August 22, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. Chiefs of Mission for Libya
  19. Prior to establishment of the embassy, Lynch had been the Consul-General in Libya.
  20. Chargés d’affaires do not have official status as ambassadors and do not necessarily present credentials.
  21. Tappin was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 24, 1955.
  22. "U.S. Envoy Cretz Set For New Role In Libya". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  23. "Office of the Historian – Department History – People – Gene Allan Cretz". United States Department of State. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  24. "Ambassador - U.S. Embassy Tripoli, Libya". Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  25. "Ambassador Chris Stevens Presents his Credentials | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  26. Ethan A. Goldrich, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. – biography
  27. "Bodde, Peter W." U.S. Department of State. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  28. "Retired ambassador to Libya to lead Cuba attacks review". Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  29. "Chargé d'Affaires Leslie Ordeman". September 8, 2022.

See also

References

Media related to Ambassadors of the United States to Libya at Wikimedia Commons

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