List of ambassadors of the United States to Hungary

This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Hungary.

Ambassador of the United States to Hungary
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
David Pressman
since September 14, 2022
ResidenceSzabadság Square 12, Budapest, H-1054
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderUlysses Grant-Smith
as Chargé d'Affaires pro tem
FormationDecember 26, 1921
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Budapest

Until 1867 Hungary had been part of the Austrian Empire, when the empire became Austria-Hungary. Hungary had no separate diplomatic relations with other nations. The United States had diplomatic relations with the empire and Austria-Hungary through the legation in Vienna.

The empire was dissolved following World War I, and the United States established separate diplomatic relations with Austria and Hungary in 1921, reopening the embassy in Vienna and establishing a legation in Budapest. Ulysses Grant-Smith opened the U.S. legation on December 26, 1921, and remained the chief of mission as chargé d'affaires until an ambassador was commissioned the following year.

For ambassadors to Austria-Hungary prior to the dissolution of the empire, see United States Ambassador to Austria.

The United States Embassy in Hungary is located on Szabadság tér (Liberty Square) in the Pest part of Budapest.

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
Ulysses Grant-Smith[lower-alpha 1] – Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires pro tem Not commissioned January 24, 1922 April 28, 1922
Theodore Brentano – Political appointee Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary February 10, 1922 May 16, 1922 Presented recall, May 6, 1927
J. Butler Wright – Career FSO February 26, 1927 June 18, 1927 Presented recall, October 24, 1930
Nicholas Roosevelt[lower-alpha 2] – Political appointee September 29, 1930 November 12, 1930 May 9, 1933
John Flournoy Montgomery – Political appointee June 13, 1933 August 1, 1933 March 17, 1941
Herbert Claiborne Pell – Political appointee February 11, 1941 May 20, 1941 January 16, 1942
Hungary severed diplomatic relations with the United States on December 11, 1941, the day the United States declared war on Germany. Hungary declared war on the United States two days later. Pell closed the legation and departed Hungary on January 16, 1942. The United States and Hungary established normal diplomatic relations again after the war ended in 1945.
H.F. Arthur Schoenfeld – Career FSO Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary December 15, 1945 January 26, 1946 June 1, 1947
Selden Chapin[lower-alpha 3] – Career FSO April 10, 1947 July 9, 1947 February 17, 1949
Nathaniel P. Davis – Career FSO September 1, 1949 October 21, 1949 May 18, 1951
Christian M. Ravndal – Career FSO October 3, 1951 January 11, 1952 August 5, 1956
Edward T. Wailes – Career FSO July 26, 1956 Did not present credentials left post, February 27, 1957 Ambassador Wailes had been commissioned as ambassador during the Imre Nagy regime in Hungary, prior to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. He arrived in Hungary on November 2, 1956, shortly after the new János Kádár government had been installed. Wailes refused to present his credentials to the new government, stating that the government "did not represent the people." Shortly thereafter he was "recalled for consultations" and he left Hungary on February 27, 1957.[3]
Garret G. Ackerson Jr. Chargé d'Affaires ad interim July 1957 Unknown February 1961
Horace G. Torbert Jr. February 1961 December 1962
Owen T. Jones December 1962 July 1964
Elim O'Shaughnessy November 1964 September 1966
Richard W. Tims September 1966 October 1967
Martin J. Hillenbrand – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 13, 1967 October 30, 1967 February 15, 1969 Legation upgraded to embassy; title upgraded to "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary".
Alfred Puhan – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 1, 1969 June 16, 1969 July 9, 1973
Richard F. Pedersen – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 24, 1973 September 10, 1973 March 26, 1975
Eugene V. McAuliffe – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary March 25, 1975 April 28, 1975 April 15, 1976
Philip M. Kaiser – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 7, 1977 August 4, 1977 March 9, 1980
Harry E. Bergold Jr. – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary March 3, 1980 March 31, 1980 November 9, 1983
Nicolas M. Salgo – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary October 7, 1983 November 23, 1983 August 1, 1986
Robie Marcus Hooker Palmer – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 24, 1986 December 8, 1986 January 31, 1990
Charles H. Thomas – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary June 27, 1990 July 2, 1990 January 11, 1994
Donald M. Blinken – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary March 28, 1994 April 1, 1994 November 20, 1997
Peter Francis Tufo – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 10, 1997 December 3, 1997 March 1, 2001
Nancy Goodman Brinker – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary August 7, 2001 September 26, 2001 June 19, 2003
George H. Walker III – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary August 4, 2003 October 6, 2003 August 6, 2006
April H. Foley – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 30, 2006 August 18, 2006 April 2, 2009
Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary January 7, 2010 January 11, 2010 July 20, 2013
M. André Goodfriend[4] Chargé d’Affaires ad interim August 18, 2013 n/a January 20, 2015
Colleen Bradley Bell – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary December 14, 2014 January 21, 2015 January 20, 2017
David Kostelancik Chargé d’Affaires ad interim January 20, 2017 "n/a" June 22, 2018
David B. Cornstein – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary February 13, 2018 June 22, 2018 October 30, 2020[5]
Marc Dillard Chargé d’Affaires ad interim October 30, 2020 n/a August 10, 2022
B. Bix Aliu[6] Chargé d'Affaires ad interim August 10, 2022 n/a September 14, 2022 Served as Chargé d'Affaires until the arrival of the appointed Ambassador, David Pressman.[7]
David Pressman – Political Appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Aug 8, 2022[8] September 14, 2022[9] Incumbent

Notes
  1. Grant-Smith was not commissioned. His letter of credence was dated December 27, 1921. He had opened the legation on December 26 and had been granted provisional recognition as Chargé d’Affaires.
  2. Roosevelt was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 16, 1930.
  3. Chapin was declared persona non grata by the government of Hungary on February 11, 1949, and departed Hungary on February 17. The government of Hungary had accused Chapin of conspiring with Cardinal József Mindszenty.[1][2]

References
  1. "Changing Cast". Time. June 6, 1955. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  2. Plischke, Elmer (1999). U.S. Department of State–A Reference History. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 524. ISBN 9780313291265.
  3. "Diplomats at Work". Time. March 25, 1957. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  4. {{Cite web title=Chargè d'Affaires, a.i. |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112064000/http://hungary.usembassy.gov/dcm.html
  5. "A message from Ambassador Cornstein". U.S. Embassy in Hungary. September 15, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  6. "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i." U.S. Embassy in Hungary. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  7. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 117th Congress - 2nd Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  8. Ambassador US Embassy
  9. "US Ambassador visits Hungarian President with his rainbow family". September 15, 2022.

See also

References
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