List of ambassadors of the United States to Ukraine

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Chargé d'Affaires of the United States to Ukraine
Повірений у справах Сполучених Штатів в Україні
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Kristina Kvien, June 2019.jpg
Incumbent
Kristina Kvien
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
since January 1, 2020
NominatorThe President of the United States
Inaugural holderRoman Popadiuk
as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
FormationMay 11, 1992
WebsiteU.S. Embassy – Kyiv

The history of ambassadors of the United States to Ukraine began in 1992. Until 1991, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had been a constituent SSR of the Soviet Union.

History[]

Upon the breakup of the USSR, the parliament of Ukraine declared the nation's independence on August 24, 1991. On December 1, 1991, the people of Ukraine voted to approve the declaration by a wide margin.

The United States recognized Ukraine on December 26, 1991, and the U.S. embassy in Kyiv was established on January 23, 1992, with Jon Gundersen as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The first ambassador was commissioned in May 1992.

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine is located in Kyiv. In January 2022, the embassy requested the evacuation of non-essential personnel and their families as the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis escalated.[1]

Chiefs of mission[]

No Name Type Title Appointed Presented Credentials Terminated Mission
— Jon Gundersen Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim January 23, 1992 May 11, 1992
1 Roman Popadiuk Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 11, 1992 June 4, 1992 July 30, 1993
2 William Green Miller Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 16, 1993 October 21, 1993 January 6, 1998
3 Steven Pifer Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 10, 1997 January 20, 1998 October 9, 2000
4 Carlos Pascual Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 15, 2000 October 22, 2000 May 1, 2003
5 John E. Herbst Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 1, 2003 September 20, 2003 May 26, 2006
6 William B. Taylor Jr. Political appointee[2] Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 30, 2006[2] June 21, 2006 May 23, 2009[3]
7 John F. Tefft[4] Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary[5] November 20, 2009[3] December 7, 2009[5] July 9, 2013
8 Geoffrey R. Pyatt[6][7] Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 30, 2013[7] August 15, 2013[6] August 18, 2016
9 Marie Yovanovitch Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 18, 2016[8] August 29, 2016 May 20, 2019
— Joseph Pennington Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim May 20, 2019 May 28, 2019
— Kristina Kvien Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim[9] May 28, 2019 June 18, 2019[10]
— William B. Taylor Jr. Political appointee[2] Chargé d'Affaires ad interim[11] June 18, 2019[10] January 1, 2020[12]
— Kristina Kvien Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim January 1, 2020[13]

See also[]

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".

Notes[]

  1. ^ "US embassy in Ukraine 'requests staff evacuation' amid war fears". the Guardian. 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  2. ^ a b c "William B. Taylor Jr". Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute, United States Department of State. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b New U.S. ambassador Tefft arrives in Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine (December 2, 2009)
  4. ^ Ex-US ambassador to Georgia John Tefft to lead diplomatic mission in Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine (September 30, 2009)
  5. ^ a b Yushchenko accepted credentials of US Ambassador and Ambassador of Turkey to Ukraine, UNIAN (December 7, 2009)
  6. ^ a b Yanukovych accepts credentials from new US ambassador, discusses with him Ukrainian-US relations, Interfax-Ukraine (15 August 2013)
  7. ^ a b Welcome, Mr. Pyatt!, Den (5 August 2013)
  8. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts" (Press release). White House Press Office. May 19, 2016.
  9. ^ Grytsenko, Oksana (2019-05-31). "Kristina Kvien to temporarily head US Embassy in Ukraine". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  10. ^ a b "Welcoming Ambassador William B. Taylor Back to Ukraine as Chargé d'Affaires". US Embassy in Ukraine. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  11. ^ Bonner, Brian (2019-06-18). "William B. Taylor returns to Ukraine to lead US mission". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  12. ^ Hansler, Jennifer. "Bill Taylor departs post as top US diplomat in Ukraine." CNN. Retrieved 2 January 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/politics/bill-taylor-leaves-post-kiev/index.html
  13. ^ Kuleba welcomes nomination of Keith Dayton for new U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine (5 May 2020)

References[]

External links[]

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