List of ambassadors of the United States to Iceland

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Ambassador of the United States to Iceland
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent

Chargé d'Affaires
since 20 January 2021
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderLincoln MacVeagh
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Formation8 August 1941
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Reykjavík

Until 1874, Iceland was a dependency of Denmark rather than an independent nation. In 1874, Denmark granted Iceland home rule, which again was expanded in 1904. In 1918, The Act of Union, an agreement between Denmark, recognised Iceland as a fully sovereign state united with Denmark under a common king. Iceland established its own flag and asked that Denmark represent its foreign affairs and defense interests. Thus the United States Ambassador to Denmark conducted foreign relations between the United States and Iceland.

The German invasion and occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940 severed communications between Iceland and Denmark. As a result, on 10 April, the Parliament of Iceland elected to take control of their own foreign affairs. The US thus commissioned Lincoln MacVeagh as its first ambassador to Iceland on 8 August 1941. MacVeagh presented his credentials to the foreign minister of Iceland on 30 September 1941. His title was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. The US has maintained continuous diplomatic relations with Iceland since then.

Following a plebiscite, Iceland formally became an independent republic on 17 June 1944.

The position of ambassador was vacant from January 2017 to July 2019, with Jill Esposito heading the embassy in the interim.[1] In August 2018, president Trump nominated Jeffrey Ross Gunter as ambassador to Iceland,.[2] The nomination was resubmitted on January 16, 2019, and Gunter was confirmed by the Senate on 23 May 2019.[3] He resigned in January 2021 and Michelle Yerkin has served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Reykjavik since July 2020. [4][5]

List of ambassadors[]

# Name Title Appointment Presentation of credentials Termination of mission Nature of appointment Nature of termination
1 Lincoln MacVeagh Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 8 August 1941 30 September 1941 27 June 1942 Political appointee Left post
2 Leland Burnette Morris 13 August 1942 7 October 1942 10 May 1944 Career FSO Relinquished charge
3 Louis Goethe Dreyfus, Jr. 21 March 1944 14 June 1944 21 October 1946 Left post
4 Richard P. Butrick 26 February 1948 29 April 1948 10 August 1949
5 Edward B. Lawson 22 July 1949 22 September 1949 29 May 1954
6 John Joseph Muccio 23 August 1954 12 October 1954 19 October 1955 Mission title changed
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 19 October 1955 3 November 1955 16 December 1959 Left post
7 27 January 1960 19 February 1960 16 April 1961
8 27 April 1961 24 May 1961 16 March 1967
9 Karl Fritjof Rolvaag 5 April 1967 9 May 1967 27 March 1969 Political appointee
10 Luther I. Replogle 8 July 1969 12 September 1969 15 June 1972
11 Frederick Irving 11 September 1972 11 October 1972 21 April 1976 Career FSO
12 1 July 1976 8 September 1976 29 September 1978
13 12 October 1978 21 November 1978 15 August 1981
14 Marshall Brement 27 July 1981 16 September 1981 1 August 1985
15 L. Nicholas Ruwe 12 July 1985 21 August 1985 7 October 1989 Political appointee
16 Charles Elvan Cobb, Jr. 10 October 1989 8 November 1989 10 January 1992
17 Sigmund Rogich 11 May 1992 4 June 1992 14 October 1993
18 Parker W. Borg 8 October 1993 24 November 1993 13 July 1996 Career FSO
19 11 June 1996 3 September 1996 12 August 1999
20 9 August 1999 29 September 1999 29 July 2002
21 James Irvin Gadsden 3 October 2002 9 December 2002 14 July 2005
22 Carol van Voorst 3 January 2006 26 January 2006 30 April 2009
23 Luis E. Arreaga 10 September 2010 20 September 2010 23 November 2013
24 Robert C. Barber 2 January 2015 28 January 2015 20 January 2017 Political appointee
24 Jeffrey Ross Gunter 23 May 2019 2 July 2019 20 January 2021

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".

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Chargé d'Affaires Jill Esposito". is.usembassy.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  2. ^ Jeffrey Ross Gunter nominated & name resubmitted to Senate Jan. 16, 2019. "PN126 — Jeffrey Ross Gunter — Department of State". www.congress.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  3. ^ "PN126 - Nomination of Jeffrey Ross Gunter for Department of State, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  4. ^ "US ambassador quits". 21 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Chargé d'Affaires Michelle Yerkin".

External links[]

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