List of ambassadors of the United States to Cuba

The United States ambassador to the Republic of Cuba is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Cuba, and serves as the head of the Embassy of the United States in Havana. Direct bilateral diplomatic relations did not exist between the two countries from 1961 to 2015. President Dwight D. Eisenhower severed relations following the Cuban Revolution on January 3, 1961.[1] Relations were subsequently restored by Cuban President Raul Castro and President Barack Obama on July 20, 2015.

Ambassador of the United States to Cuba
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Benjamin G. Ziff
Chargé d'Affaires a.i.
since July 14, 2022
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderHerbert G. Squiers
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationMay 20, 1902;
reestablished July 20, 2015
Final holderPhilip Bonsal (1960)
AbolishedJanuary 3, 1961 - July 20, 2015
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Havana

With the restoration of relations in 2015, the president may nominate an ambassador, though the position has remained vacant since 1960. The embassy is currently run by a Chargé d'affaires ad interim, Benjamin G. Ziff. The Chargé d'affaires and the embassy staff at large work in the American Embassy on the Malecón in Havana.

History

Cuba was the last major Spanish colony to gain independence, following a lengthy struggle that began in 1868. José Martí, Cuba's national hero, helped initiate the final push for independence in 1895. In 1898, the United States fought a brief war known as the Spanish–American War, after the USS Maine sank in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, due to an explosion of undetermined origin. In December 1898, Spain relinquished control of Cuba to the United States with the Treaty of Paris. On May 20, 1902, the United States granted Cuba its independence but retained the right to intervene to preserve Cuban independence and stability in accordance with the Platt Amendment.

In 1902 the US established an embassy in Havana and appointed its first ambassador, Herbert G. Squiers. In 1934, the Platt Amendment was repealed. The United States and Cuba concluded a Treaty of Relations in 1934 which, among other things, continued the 1903 agreements that leased the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to the United States. In 1959 Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista and Batista fled the country on January 1, 1959. Relations between the United States and Cuba deteriorated rapidly as the Cuban government expropriated US properties and developed close ties with the Soviet Union. In October 1960, the US recalled its ambassador to protest Castro's policies. On January 3, 1961, the US withdrew diplomatic recognition of the Cuban government and closed the embassy in Havana. On September 1, 1977, the US established the United States Interests Section in Havana, located in its former embassy and operated under the auspices of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana. The Interests Section was headed by Chief of Mission rather than an ambassador. Bilateral relations between the two governments resumed on July 20, 2015.

Ambassadors
Name[lower-alpha 1] Appointed Presented credentials Terminated mission Notes
Herbert G. Squiers May 20, 1902 May 27, 1902 December 2, 1905
Edwin V. Morgan November 29, 1905 March 1, 1906[lower-alpha 2] January 5, 1910
John Brinkerhoff Jackson December 21, 1909 March 22, 1910 October 27, 1911 Recalled
Arthur M. Beaupre August 12, 1911 December 18, 1911 June 28, 1913
William E. Gonzales June 21, 1913 August 9, 1913 December 18, 1919 Political appointee
Boaz W. Long June 30, 1919 January 8, 1920 June 17, 1921 Political appointee
Enoch H. Crowder February 10, 1923 March 5, 1923 May 28, 1927 Political appointee
Noble Brandon Judah November 22, 1927 December 17, 1927[lower-alpha 3] June 1, 1929 Political appointee
Harry F. Guggenheim October 10, 1929 November 21, 1929 April 2, 1933 Political appointee
Sumner Welles April 24, 1933 May 11, 1933 December 13, 1933[lower-alpha 4] Career FSO.
Jefferson Caffery February 23, 1934 February 28, 1934 March 9, 1937 Career FSO
J. Butler Wright July 13, 1937 August 23, 1937 December 4, 1939 Career FSO. Died at post.
George S. Messersmith January 12, 1940 March 8, 1940 February 8, 1942 Career FSO. Recalled.
Spruille Braden December 20, 1941 May 19, 1942 April 27, 1945 Political appointee
Raymond Henry Norweb May 21, 1945 July 24, 1945 May 22, 1948 Career FSO
Robert Butler May 22, 1948 June 8, 1948 February 10, 1951 Political appointee
Willard L. Beaulac June 20, 1951 September 20, 1951 August 9, 1953 Career FSO
Arthur Gardner May 28, 1953 October 16, 1953 June 16, 1957 Political appointee
Earl E. T. Smith June 3, 1957 July 23, 1957 January 19, 1959 Political appointee
Philip W. Bonsal February 16, 1959 March 3, 1959 October 28, 1960[lower-alpha 5] Career FSO.

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".

Normal relations were severed in January 1961 and were not re-established until July 2015. An ambassador to Cuba has not been appointed since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations. All the following served Chargé d'affaires ad interim.

Chiefs of the US Interests Section

The Interests Section operated from September 1, 1977, to July 20, 2015.

Notes

    See also

    Notes
    1. The ambassador held the title "Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary" before 1921 and "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary" afterwards.
    2. Morgan was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 11, 1905.
    3. Judah was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1927.
    4. Normal relations were interrupted on September 5, 1933; the new Government of Cuba was still unrecognized by the United States when Welles left post on December 13, 1933.
    5. Daniel M. Braddock was serving as Chargé d'affaires ad interim when the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961.

    References
    • United States Department of State: Background notes on Cuba
    • Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.
    1. United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba History.
    2. Torres, Nora (11 July 2017). "U.S. names interim charge d'affaires at embassy in Havana". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019.
    3. "Estados Unidos envía nuevo encargado de negocios a su embajada en Cuba" [The United States sends new charge d'affaires to its embassy in Cuba]. Televisa. November 1, 2017.
    4. "Microwaves possible cause, not 'prime suspect' in US personnel illness in Cuba: Doctor". ABC News.
    5. "'It wasn't a friendly relationship.' Former top diplomat in Havana talks about U.S.-Cuba relations". Miami Herald.
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