List of ambassadors of the United States to Austria

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

Ambassador of the United States to Austria
Botschafter der Vereinigten Staaten in Österreich
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Victoria Reggie Kennedy
since January 12, 2022
Inaugural holderHenry A. P. Muhlenberg
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationFebruary 8, 1838
WebsiteAmbassador to Austria Edit this at Wikidata

The United States first established diplomatic relations with Austria in 1838 during the time of the Austrian Empire. Relations between the United States have been continuous since that time except for two interruptions during World War I and World War II.

The first ambassadors were accredited to the Austrian Empire. In 1867 the empire became Austria-Hungary and the ambassadors were so commissioned. After the resumption of diplomatic relations following World War I, the ambassadors were commissioned to Austria.

For ambassadors to Hungary after the dissolution of the empire, see United States Ambassador to Hungary.

The United States Embassy in Austria is located in Vienna.

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
Henry A. P. Muhlenberg Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary February 8, 1838 November 7, 1838 Left post, September 18, 1840
Daniel Jenifer Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary August 27, 1841 March 30, 1842 Presented recall, June 28–July 7, 1845 From 1845 until 1854 there was no U.S. minister present. The U.S. was represented by a succession of chargés d’affaires.
William H. Stiles[1] Chargé d'affaires April 19, 1845 August 5, 1845 Left post, August 1, 1849
James Watson Webb[2] Chargé d'affaires November 1, 1849 February 6, 1850 Left post, May 8, 1850
Charles J. McCurdy Chargé d'affaires September 27, 1850 March 14, 1851 October 12, 1852
Thomas M. Foote[3] Chargé d'affaires September 16, 1852 December 14, 1852 Presented recall, June 25, 1853
Henry R. Jackson[4][5] Chargé d'affaires May 24, 1853 September 16, 1853 Promoted to Minister Resident
Henry R. Jackson Minister Resident June 29, 1854 September 28, 1854 on or after June 1, 1858
J. Glancy Jones Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary December 15, 1858 February 14, 1859 Presented recall, November 14, 1861
J. Lothrop Motley[6] Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary August 10, 1861 November 14, 1861 June 14, 1867 President Andrew Johnson nominated eight men to be ambassador to Austria, but the Senate rejected or declined to consider them, most likely because of the President's disputes with the Congress over other issues.
Henry M. Watts Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary July 25, 1868 September 25, 1868 Presented recall, June 1, 1869
John Jay II Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 1869 June 1, 1869 Presented recall, March 31, 1875 Ambassadors after 1869 were commissioned to Austria-Hungary.
Godlove S. Orth Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary March 9, 1875 May 24, 1875 Relinquished charge, March 10, 1876
Edward F. Beale Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary June 1, 1876 August 10, 1876 Left post, April 20, 1877
John A. Kasson[7] Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 11, 1877 August 30, 1877 Presented recall, March 25, 1881
William Walter Phelps Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary May 5, 1881 June 20, 1881 Superseded June 30, 1882
Alphonso Taft Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary April 26, 1882 June 30, 1882 Left post, August 25, 1884
John M. Francis Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary July 4, 1884 September 11, 1884 Presented recall, August 3, 1885
Alexander R. Lawton[8] Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary April 15, 1887 August 25, 1887 May 15, 1889
Frederick D. Grant Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary March 23, 1889 May 15, 1889 Presented recall, June 8, 1893
Bartlett Tripp Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary April 6, 1893 June 8, 1893 Presented recall, June 18, 1897
Charlemagne Tower Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary April 1, 1897 June 18, 1897 Had farewell audience, February 9, 1899
Addison C. Harris Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary January 12, 1899 April 13, 1899 Presented recall, April 29, 1901
Robert S. McCormick[9] Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary March 7, 1901 April 29, 1901 Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary From 1902 to 1917 ambassadors to Austria bore the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Robert S. McCormick Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 27, 1902 June 26, 1902 Presented recall, December 29, 1902
Bellamy Storer[10] Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 26, 1902 January 3, 1903 Left post, February 8, 1906
Charles Spencer Francis Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary March 22, 1906 May 29, 1906 Presented recall, April 1, 1910
Richard C. Kerens Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary December 21, 1909 April 12, 1910 Left post, June 28, 1913
Frederic Courtland Penfield – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 28, 1913 September 26, 1913 Left post, April 7, 1917 The United States declared war on Germany April 6, 1917. Ambassador Penfield departed Austria the following day, April 7. Austria-Hungary severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 9. Joseph C. Grew was serving as Chargé d'affaires ad interim when Austria-Hungary severed relations. Although a date is not recorded, the embassy would have been closed almost immediately and all diplomatic personnel would have departed or been expelled. Normal diplomatic relations were resumed in 1921.
Arthur Hugh Frazier – Career FSO Chargé d'affaires pro tem[11] Not commissioned[12] November 25, 1921 Left post, May 21, 1922 After resumption of diplomatic relations, the embassy was downgraded to a legation and the title of the chief of mission was downgraded to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and remained as such until 1952.
Albert Henry Washburn – Political appointee Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary February 10, 1922 June 19, 1922 Died at post, April 29, 1930
Gilchrist Baker Stockton – Political appointee Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary January 22, 1930 May 15, 1930 Left post, September 21, 1933
George H. Earle, 3rd[13] – Political appointee Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary July 24, 1933 September 27, 1933 Left post, March 25, 1934
George S. Messersmith – Career FSO Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary April 7, 1934 May 23, 1934 Left post, July 11, 1937
Grenville T. Emmet – Political appointee Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary July 13, 1937 September 14, 1937 Died at post, September 26, 1937 John C. Wiley was serving as Chargé d'affaires ad interim when Austria was annexed to Germany, March 13, 1938; he closed the legation in Vienna, April 30, 1938. Diplomatic relations with Austria were broken during World War II but resumed in 1946.
John G. Erhardt – Career FSO Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary August 3, 1946 September 7, 1946 Left post, June 27, 1950
Walter J. Donnelly[14][15] – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 20, 1950 October 25, 1950 Left post, July 19, 1952 In 1951 the legation in Vienna was upgraded to an embassy and the chief of mission gained the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Llewellyn E. Thompson, Jr.[16] – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 17, 1952 September 4, 1952 July 9, 1957
H. Freeman Matthews – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary August 5, 1957 September 4, 1957 Left post, May 25, 1962
James Williams Riddleberger – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary October 23, 1962 December 12, 1962 Left post, May 10, 1967
Douglas MacArthur II – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary April 5, 1967 May 24, 1967 Left post, September 16, 1969
John P. Humes – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 26, 1969 October 29, 1969 Left post, March 6, 1975
Wiley T. Buchanan, Jr. – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary March 25, 1975 April 2, 1975 Left post, March 31, 1977
Milton A. Wolf – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary June 23, 1977 September 5, 1977 Left post, March 2, 1980
Philip M. Kaiser – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary February 19, 1980 March 25, 1980 Left post, March 2, 1981
Theodore E. Cummings[17] – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary June 20, 1981 September 2, 1981 Died March 30, 1982
Helene A. von Damm – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 10, 1983 June 22, 1983 January 15, 1986
Ronald S. Lauder[18] – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary April 16, 1986 May 7, 1986 October 27, 1987
Henry Anatole Grunwald[18] – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary December 23, 1987 January 20, 1988 January 1, 1990
Roy M. Huffington – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary August 6, 1990 September 11, 1990 March 1, 1993
Swanee Grace Hunt – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 4, 1993 December 16, 1993 October 18, 1997
Kathryn Walt Hall – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 19, 1997 December 11, 1997 July 10, 2001
Lyons Brown, Jr. – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 5, 2001 December 19, 2001 October 5, 2005
Susan Rasinski McCaw – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 2, 2005 January 9, 2006 November 25, 2007
David F. Girard-diCarlo – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 1, 2008 September 10, 2008 January 20, 2009[19]
William Eacho – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary August 12, 2009[20] September 14, 2009 August 3, 2013
Alexa L. Wesner – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 6, 2013 October 22, 2013 January 20, 2017
Eugene S. Young – Career FSO[21] Chargée d’affaires a.i. January 20, 2017 May 24, 2018
Trevor Traina – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary March 28, 2018 May 24, 2018 January 20, 2021
Robin Dunnigan – Career FSO[22] Chargé d’affaires a.i. January 20, 2021 July 12, 2021
Mario Mesquita – Career FSO[23] Chargé d’affaires a.i. July 12, 2021 January 12, 2022
Victoria Reggie Kennedy Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 16, 2021 January 12, 2022 Incumbent

See also

Notes
  1. Stiles was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 7, 1846.
  2. Webb was commissioned during a recess of the Senate but his nomination later rejected by the Senate.
  3. Foote was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 20, 1853.
  4. Jackson was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on February 8, 1854.
  5. President Franklin Pierce nominated Jackson February 25, 1856 to be Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary but his nomination was withdrawn before the Senate acted upon it. He was subsequently promoted to Minister Resident.
  6. Motley was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 22, 1862.
  7. Kasson was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on October 30, 1877.
  8. Lawton was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 15, 1887.
  9. McCormick was promoted during his term to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, which required reconfirmation by the Senate.
  10. Storer was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 8, 1902.
  11. Frazier was recognized provisionally as Charge d’Affaires pro tempore and received as such on November 26, 1921.
  12. A Chargé d’Affaires does not necessarily require a commission.
  13. Earle was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 15, 1934.
  14. Donnelly was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary during his term. This required a new commission.
  15. Donnelly was recommissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on February 21, 1952.
  16. Thompson was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on June 4, 1953.
  17. Ambassador Cummings left Vienna on December 9, 1981, and was on vacation in Los Angeles when he died.
  18. Commissioned to the Republic of Austria.
  19. On December 10, 2008, the Ambassador announced his intention to resign from the post following the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009. Source: United States Embassy in Vienna press release December 10, 2008
  20. "Biography - William C. Eacho, III". US State Department. Archived from the original on October 17, 2009.
  21. "Deputy Chief of Mission Eugene Young Bio". U.S. Embassy in Austria. Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  22. "Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Robin Dunnigan | U.S. Embassy in Austria". April 28, 2021. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  23. "Chargé d'affaires a.i. Mario Mesquita - U.S. Embassy in Austria". November 7, 2021. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.

References
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