List of ambassadors of the United States to Burundi

The part of Africa that is now Burundi and Rwanda was a feudal monarchy headed by a mwami (king) and a ganwa, a feudal hierarchy of Tutsi nobles and gentry until 1890. In that year the Germans attacked the nation and attempted to subdue it with armed force. Eventually the Germans backed an attempted coup d’état against the king, Mwezi Gisabo. The coup was unsuccessful, but Gisabo was eventually forced to concede and agreed to German suzerainty. The Germans then helped him suppress the revolt. Thus Burundi became part of German East Africa in 1890.

Ambassador of the United States to Burundi
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Keith R. Gilges
(Chargé d’Affaires)
since July 14, 2023
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderDonald A. Dumont
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationOctober 25, 1962
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Bujumbura

In 1915 during The Great War, Belgian troops from Zaire drove the small number of Germans out of Burundi and took control of the country.

After World War I Germany lost its overseas possessions and the League of Nations mandated Burundi and its southern neighbor, Rwanda, to Belgium as the territory of Ruanda-Urundi in 1923. The western kingdoms of Ruanda-Urundi were stripped from the old colonies and given to British-administered Tanganyika. The Belgians administered the territory through indirect rule, building on the Tutsi-dominated aristocratic hierarchy.

Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory with Belgium as the administrative authority.

In June 1962 the UN General Assembly terminated the Belgian trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda and Burundi. The United States immediately recognized the Burundian government and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The U.S. Embassy in the capital Usumbura (now Bujumbura) was established on July 1, 1962, with Herbert V. Olds as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. Donald A. Dumont was appointed as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Burundi on October 25, 1962.

The rank of the mission was changed to Legation effective December 15, 1962, and to Embassy again effective September 16, 1963.

Ambassadors

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 to remain in office.

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.

Ad interim
Latin phrase meaning "for the time being", "in the meantime".
Name Title Appointed Presented credentials Terminated mission Notes
Donald A. Dumont – Career FSO[1][2][3] Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary October 25, 1962 January 17, 1963 August 1, 1963 Dumont was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on August 1, 1963. This required a new commission.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary August 1, 1963 September 16, 1963 January 10, 1966 Recall requested by Govt. of Burundi, December 29, 1965
George W. Renchard – Career FSO July 24, 1968 August 10, 1968 October 15, 1969
Thomas Patrick Melady – Political appointee November 4, 1969 January 31, 1970 May 25, 1972
Robert L. Yost – Career FSO June 27, 1972 August 19, 1972 May 26, 1974
David E. Mark – Career FSO June 20, 1974 September 4, 1974 August 26, 1977
Thomas J. Corcoran – Career FSO March 2, 1978 April 6, 1978 August 19, 1980
Frances D. Cook – Career FSO June 30, 1980 September 25, 1980 March 15, 1983
James R. Bullington – Career FSO March 13, 1983 April 14, 1983 July 11, 1986
James Daniel Phillips – Career FSO October 16, 1986 November 20, 1986 January 12, 1990
Cynthia Shepard Perry – Political appointee November 21, 1989 February 12, 1990 February 28, 1993 The post was vacant from March 1993 to June 1994. Leonard J. Lange, Career FSO, served as chargé d'affaires ad interim during that period.
Robert Krueger – Political appointee May 9, 1994 June 29, 1994 September 10, 1995
Morris N. Hughes, Jr. – Career FSO June 11, 1996 June 27, 1996 May 14, 1999
Mary Carlin Yates – Career FSO November 16, 1999 December 15, 1999 June 19, 2002
James Howard Yellin – Career FSO August 8, 2002 September 26, 2002 July 21, 2005
Patricia Moller – Career FSO October 27, 2005 March 31, 2006 June 29, 2009[4]
Pamela J. H. Slutz - Career FSO[5] November 2, 2009 December 11, 2009 February 22, 2012
Dawn M. Liberi – Career FSO October 19, 2012 January 18, 2013 July 24, 2016
Anne S. Casper – Career FSO May 18, 2016 October 20, 2016 May 5, 2019
Eunice Reddick – Career FSO Chargé d'Affairs ad interim May 5, 2019 March 2, 2021
Melanie Harris Higgins – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 18, 2020 March 2, 2021 July 13, 2023
Keith R. Gilges – Career FSO Chargé d'Affairs ad interim July 14, 2023 Incumbent

Notes
  1. Dumont was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on March 12, 1963.
  2. The rank of the mission was raised from Legation to Embassy simultaneously with Dumont’s promotion.
  3. Following a coup d’état in Burundi, Dumont was recalled at the request of the government of Burundi on January 10, 1966.
  4. "Patricia Newton Moller - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
  5. "Pamela J. H. Slutz". Biography. U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.

See also

References
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