List of ambassadors of the United States to Cameroon
| Ambassador of the United States to Cameroon | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the United States Department of State | |
Incumbent Vernelle Trim FitzPatrick Chargé d'Affaires since July 16, 2020 | |
| Nominator | The President of the United States |
| Appointer | The President with Senate advice and consent |
| Inaugural holder | as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim |
| Formation | January 1, 1960 |
| Website | cm |
This is a list of ambassadors from the United States to Cameroon. The American Embassy at Yaounde was established on January 1, 1960, with as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.
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".
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".
- Leland Barrows
- State of Residency: Kansas
- Foreign Service officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: April 20, 1960
- Presentation of Credentials: June 9, 1960
- Termination of Mission: Left post, September 6, 1966
- Note: Accredited also to Togo and resident at Yaounde.
- Robert L. Payton
- State of Residency: Missouri
- Non-career appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: January 26, 1967
- Presentation of Credentials: March 4, 1967
- Termination of Mission: Left post, May 27, 1969
- Lewis Hoffacker
- State of Residency: District of Columbia
- Foreign Service officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: December 2, 1969
- Presentation of Credentials: December 20, 1969
- Termination of Mission: Left post, June 6, 1972
- Note: Also accredited to Equatorial Guinea and resident at Yaounde.
-
- State of Residency: Washington
- Foreign Service officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: June 27, 1972
- Presentation of Credentials: July 22, 1972
- Termination of Mission: Left post, July 28, 1975
- Note: Also accredited to Equatorial Guinea and resident at Yaounde.
- Herbert J. Spiro
- State of Residency: Pennsylvania
- Non-career appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: July 24, 1975
- Presentation of Credentials: September 1, 1975
- Termination of Mission: Left post, May 7, 1977
- Note: Accredited also to Equatorial Guinea until Mar 14, 1976; resident at Yaounde.
- Mabel M. Smythe
- State of Residency: Connecticut
- Non-career appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: May 11, 1977
- Presentation of Credentials: October 1, 1977
- Termination of Mission: Left post, February 24, 1980
- Note: Also accredited to Equatorial Guinea, December 17, 1979.
- Hume A. Horan
- State of Residency: New Jersey
- Foreign Service officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: June 30, 1980
- Presentation of Credentials: July 29, 1980
- Termination of Mission: Left post, May 17, 1983
- Note: Also accredited to Equatorial Guinea until September 29, 1981
- Myles Robert Rene Frechette
- State of Residency: Washington
- Foreign Service officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: May 26, 1983
- Presentation of Credentials: September 8, 1983
- Termination of Mission: Left post, July 30, 1987
-
- State of Residency: Missouri
- Non-career appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: July 31, 1987
- Presentation of Credentials: September 9, 1987
- Termination of Mission: Left post, March 19, 1989
- Frances D. Cook
- State of Residency: Florida
- Foreign Service officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: November 21, 1989
- Presentation of Credentials: December 21, 1989
- Termination of Mission: Left post, January 1, 1993
- Harriet Winsar Isom
- State of Residency: Oregon
- Foreign Service officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: August 17, 1992
- Presentation of Credentials: January 19, 1993
- Termination of Mission: Left post January 17, 1996
- Charles H. Twining
- State of Residency: Maryland
- Foreign Service officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: December 19, 1995
- Presentation of Credentials: February 28, 1996
- Termination of Mission: Left post August 17, 1998
- Note: Also Accredited to Equatorial Guinea and resident at Yaounde.
- John Melvin Yates
- State of Residency: Washington
- Foreign Service officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: October 22, 1998
- Presentation of Credentials: January 5, 1999
- Termination of Mission: Left post November 4, 2001
- Note: Also Accredited to Equatorial Guinea and resident at Yaounde.
- George McDade Staples
- State of Residency: Kentucky
- Foreign Service Officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: September 5, 2001
- Presentation of Credentials: December 21, 2001
- Termination of Mission: Left post, July 10, 2004
- Note: Also accredited to Equatorial Guinea; resident at Yaounde.
- R. Niels Marquardt
- State of Residency: California
- Foreign Service Officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: July 2, 2004
- Presentation of Credentials: October 29, 2004
- Termination of Mission: April 9, 2007
- Note: Also accredited to Equatorial Guinea; resident at Yaounde.
-
- State of Residency: Massachusetts
- Foreign Service Officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: May 30, 2007
- Presentation of Credentials: November 9, 2007
- Termination of Mission: August 1, 2010
- Note: Also accredited to Equatorial Guinea; resident at Yaounde.
- Robert P. Jackson
- Foreign Service Officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: September 17, 2010
- Presentation of Credentials: October 12, 2010
- Termination of Mission: October 5, 2013
- Michael Hoza
- Foreign Service Officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: July 31, 2012
- Presentation of Credentials: August 22, 2014
- Termination of Mission: September 11, 2017
- Peter Barlerin
- Foreign Service Officer
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointment: November 2, 2017
- Presentation of Credentials: December 20, 2017
- Termination of Mission: July 16, 2020
See also[]
- Embassy of Cameroon, Washington, D.C.
- Cameroon – United States relations
- Foreign relations of Cameroon
- Ambassadors of the United States
References[]
- United States Department of State: Background notes on Cameroon
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Department of State website https://www.state.gov/countries-areas/. (U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets)
This article incorporates External links[]
Categories:
- Lists of ambassadors of the United States
- Ambassadors of the United States to Cameroon
- 1960 establishments in Cameroon
- Cameroon–United States relations
- Lists of ambassadors to Cameroon