List of ambassadors of the United States to Laos

This is a list of United States ambassadors to Laos. The United States established full diplomatic relations with Laos in 1955, following its full independence from France in 1954.

Ambassador of the United States to Laos
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Michelle Y. Outlaw
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
since September 1, 2023
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderPaul L. Guest
as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
FormationAugust 1950
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Vientiane

On December 29, 1961, during the Laotian Civil War, President John F. Kennedy made the Ambassador to Laos the de facto commander of U.S. military and paramilitary operations within the Kingdom of Laos for the length of the war.[1]

Accounting for American personnel missing in Laos and clearing unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the wars in Indochina were the initial focuses of the post-1975 bilateral relationship. Since that time the relationship has broadened to include cooperation on a range of issues including counter-narcotics, health, child nutrition, environmental sustainability, trade liberalization, and English language training. This expansion in cooperation has accelerated since 2009, with the launch of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), which serves as a platform to address complex, transnational development and policy changes in the Lower Mekong sub-region. The United States and Laos share a commitment to ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future for the Mekong sub-region. In July 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Laos, marking the first visit by a Secretary of State since 1955.

A large part of U.S. bilateral assistance to Laos is devoted to improving health and child nutrition. The United States also helps improve trade policy in Laos, promotes sustainable development and biodiversity conservation, and works to strengthen the criminal justice system and law enforcement. The United States has provided significant support for clearance of UXO from the war, particularly cluster munitions, as well as for risk education and victims’ assistance.

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".
Image Name Presentation of credentials Termination of mission Comment
Paul L. Guest August 1950 December 1950 ad interim
Donald R. Heath December 29, 1950 November 1, 1954 Resident at Saigon
Charles Yost November 1, 1954 April 27, 1956
J. Graham Parsons October 12, 1956 February 8, 1958
Horace H. Smith April 9, 1958 June 21, 1960
Winthrop G. Brown July 25, 1960 June 28, 1962
Leonard S. Unger July 25, 1962 December 1, 1964
William H. Sullivan December 23, 1964 March 18, 1969
G. McMurtrie Godley July 24, 1969 April 23, 1973
Charles S. Whitehouse September 20, 1973 April 12, 1975
Thomas J. Corcoran August 1975 March 1978 ad interim
George B. Roberts, Jr. March 1978 September 1979 ad interim
Leo J. Moser September 1979 October 1981 ad interim
William W. Thomas, Jr. November 1981 November 1983 ad interim
Theresa Anne Tull November 1983 August 1986 ad interim
Harriet W. Isom August 1986 August 1989 ad interim
Charles B. Salmon, Jr. August 1989 July 26, 1993 ad interim August 1989-August 1992, Ambassador August 6, 1992-July 26, 1993
Victor L. Tomseth January 8, 1994 August 20, 1996
Wendy Chamberlin September 5, 1996 June 14, 1999
Douglas A. Hartwick September 18, 2001 April 21, 2004
Patricia M. Haslach September 4, 2004 March 26, 2007
Ravic R. Huso June 22, 2007 August 22, 2010
Karen B. Stewart November 16, 2010 August 8, 2013
Daniel A. Clune September 16, 2013 September 21, 2016
Rena Bitter November 2, 2016 January 26, 2020
Peter Haymond February 7, 2020 September 1, 2023
Michelle Y. Outlaw September 1, 2023 Incumbent ad interim

See also

Notes
  1. Castle, pp. 1–2.

References
  • Castle, Timothy N. (1993). At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: U.S. Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government 1955–1975. ISBN 0-231-07977-X.
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