Since 1776 when the United States sent its first envoy to France, men and later women diplomats have been assigned to be the nation’s offical representatives in global capitals and to international organiations where they are responsible for major foreign policy portfolios. Prior to 1893 those individuals were called (Diplomatic) Ministers and Envoys. Since that date they have been called Ambassadors. Regardless of the name used, these individuals have been Chiefs of Mission which means they head U.S. diplomatic delegations to their respective nations and organizations. The list below includes the African American women and men who have served in these diplomatic capacities beginning with Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett who was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant to be Minister Resident and Consul General to Haiti in 1869.Photo of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
There are other 19th Century diplomatic officials, however, who have entries on BlackPast.org but who were never envoys, ministers, or ambassadors. They are William A. Liedesdorff who served as Vice Consul at Yerba Buena (now San Francisco) in 1845 when California was still part of Mexico, John L. Waller who was Consul at Tamatave, Madagascar from 1891 to 1894, Miflin Wistar Gibbs who held the same post from 1897 to 1901, Richard T. Greener who was Consul at Vladivostok, Russia from 1901 to 1905, and James Weldon Johnson, who was appointed Consul to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela and later Corinto, Nicargua. William Henry Hunt holds the distinction of having served in more diplomatic poste than any other African American. During his thirty-one year career he served as Consul in Tamatave, Madagascar, following Mifflin W. Gibbs there. He also served in France, Guadeloupe, the Azores, and Liberia.
Since 1949 African American ambassadors have represented the United States in nearly 100 nations as well as before Internatioal Organizations such as the United Nations and the African Union. Their names are included in specific categories as well. The entire list of African American U.S. Envoys, Ministers, and Ambassadors appears below. The list of Ambassadors includes all but the following four latest Ambassadors: Stafford Fitzgerald Haney, Costa Rica, 2015; Crystal Nix-Hines, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2014; Michael A. Lawson, U.S. Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), 2014; and, Ronald Kirk, U.S. Trade Representative, 2009. Their bios will be added below soon.
We at BlackPast.org would like to thank Ambassador Sylvia Gaye Stanfield, Carlton McLellen, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) and the dozens of volunteers from across the United States who helped make this page possible.
America’s Black Ambassadors: A Historical Snapshot
United States Ambassadors to the United Nations, 1977–
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, 2021-
United States Envoys and Ministers, 1869-1935
Ebenezer Don Carlos Basset, Haiti, 1869
John Mercer Langston, Haiti, 1877
James Milton Turner, Liberia, 1878
Henry Highland Garnet, Liberia, 1881
John E.W. Thompson, Haiti, 1885
Frederick Douglass, Haiti, 1889
Lester Aglar Walton, Liberia, 1935
United States Ambassadors Since 1949
Edward R. Dudley, Liberia, 1949
Jesse D. Locker, Liberia, 1953
Richard L. Jones, Liberia, 1955
John Howard Morrow, Guinea, 1959
Clifton R. Wharton, Sr., Norway, 1961
Will Mercer Cook, Niger, 1961, Senegal, 1964, Gambia, 1965
Patricia Roberts Harris, Luxembourg, 1965
Franklin Williams, Ghana, 1965
Hugh Smythe, Syrian Arab Republic, 1965, Malta, 1967
Elliott Skinner, Burkina Faso, 1966
Samuel Z. Westerfield, Liberia, 1969
Clarence Clyde Ferguson, Jr., Uganda, 1970
Jerome Heartwell Holland, Sweden, 1970
John Reinhardt, Nigeria, 1971, First director of USIA
Charles J. Nelson, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland, 1971
W. Beverly Carter, Tanzania, 1972, Liberia, 1976
O. Rudolph Aggrey, Senegal and Gambia, 1973, Romania, 1977
Theodore R. Britton, Jr., Barbados and Grenada, 1974
Ronald D. Palmer, Togo, 1976, Malaysia, 1981, Mauritius, 1986
Wilbert J. LeMelle, Kenya and Seychelles, 1977
Richard K. Fox, Trinidad & Tobago, 1977
Mabel M. Smythe, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, 1977
Horace G. Dawson, Botswana, 1979
Walter Carrington, Senegal, 1980, Nigeria, 1993
Barbara M. Watson, Malaysia, 1980
Melvin H. Evans, Trinidad and Tobago, 1981
Gerald E. Thomas, Guyana, 1981, Kenya, 1983
John Burroughs, Malawi, 1981, Uganda, 1988
Howard K. Walker, Togo, 1982, Madagascar and Comoros, 1989
George E. Moose, Benin, 1983, Senegal, 1988
Arthur W. Lewis, Sierra Leone, 1983
Edward Perkins, Liberia, 1985, South Africa, 1986, Australia, 1993
Irvin Hicks, Seychelles, 1985, Ethiopia, 1994
Cynthia Shepard Perry, Sierra Leone, 1986, Burundi, 1989
Leonard O. Spearman, Sr., Lesotho, 1990
Aurelia Erskine Brazeal, Micronesia, 1990, Kenya, 1993, Ethiopia, 2001
Steven J. Rhodes, Zimbabwe, 1990
Arlene Render, Gambia, 1990, Zambia, 1996, Cote d’Ivoire, 2001
Charles R. Baquet, III, Djibouti, 1991
Johnnie Carson, Uganda, 1991, Zimbabwe, 1995, Kenya, 1999
Kenton Wesley Keith, Qatar, 1992
Joseph Monroe Segars, Cape Verde, 1992
Leslie M. Alexander, Mauritius, 1993, Ecuador, 1996
Howard F. Jeter, Botswana, 1993, Nigeria 2000
Sidney Williams, Bahamas, 1994
Johnny Young, Sierra Leone, 1989, Togo, 1994, Slovenia, 2001
Carl B. Stokes, Seychelles, 1994
Jerome Gary Cooper, Jamaica, 1994
Bismark Myrick, Lesotho, 1995, Liberia, 1999
Mosina H. Jordan, Central African Republic, 1995
James A. Joseph, South Africa, 1995
Sharon P. Wilkinson, Burkina Faso, 1996, Mozambique, 2000
Shirley E. Barnes, Madagascar, 1998
William D. Clarke, Eritrea,1998
George Williford Boyce Haley, Gambia, 1998
Robert C. Perry, Central African Republic
George McDade Staples, Rwanda, 1998, Cameroon/Equatorial Guinea, 2001
Charles R. Stith, Tanzania, 1998
Harriet L. Elam-Thomas, Senegal, 1999
Gregory L. Johnson, Swaziland, 1999
Delano Eugene Lewis, Sr., South Africa, 1999
Carol Moseley-Braun, New Zealand and Samoa, 1999
Sylvia Gaye Stanfield, Brunei, 1999
Diane E. Watson, Micronesia, 1999
Pamela Bridgewater, Benin, 2000, Ghana, 2005, Jamaica, 2009
Roy L. Austin, Trinidad and Tobago, 2001
Mattie R. Sharpless, Central African Republic, 2001
Wanda L. Nesbitt, Madagascar, 2001, Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia, 2010
James Irving Gadsen, Iceland, 2002
James David McGee, Swaziland, 2002, Madagascar, 2004, Zimbabwe, 2007
Joseph Huggins, Botswana, 2002
Richard Lewis Baltimore, Oman, 2002
Charles Aaron Ray, Cambodia, 2002, Zimbabwe, 2009
Gail Denise Mathieu, Niger, 2002, Namibia, 2007
Harry K. Thomas, Jr., Bangladesh, 2003, Philippines, 2009, Zimbabwe, 2015
Roland W. Bullen, Guyana, 2003
Margarita Ragsdale, Djibouti, 2003
June Carter Perry, Lesotho, 2004, Sierra Leone, 2007
Jendayi E. Frazier, South Africa, 2004
Roger D. Pierce, Cape Verde, 2005
Eric M. Bost, South Africa 2006
Gayleatha B. Brown, Benin, 2006
Clyde Bishop, Marshall Islands, 2006
Maurice S. Parker, Swaziland, 2007
Eunice Reddick, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, 2007
Marcia S. Bernicat, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, 2008, Bangladesh, 2015
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Liberia, 2008
C. Steven McGann, The Fiji Republics, 2008
Mary Jo Wills, Mauritius, 2009
Alfonso E. Lenhardt, Tanzania, 2009
Teddy B. Taylor, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, 2009
Beatrice Welters, Trinidad and Tobago, 2010
Pamela Spratlen, Kyrgyzstan, 2011, Uzbekistan, 2015
Adrienne S. O’Neal, Cape Verde, 2011
Frankie A Reed, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga & Tuvala, 2011
Sue K. Brown, Montenegro, 2012
Gina Albercrombie-Winstanley, Malta, 2012
Tuli Mushingi, Burkina Faso, 2013
Patrick Gaspard, South Africa, 2013
Todd D. Robinson, Guatemala, 2014
Stafford Fitzgerald Haney, Costa Rica, 2015
United States Ambassadors to Global and Regional Organizations
Betty Eileen King, ECOSOC/UN, 1997
Pierre-Richard Prosper, At-Large: Office of War Crimes, 2001
Francis X. Taylor, At-Large: Coordinator for Counterterrorism, 2001
Cindy L. Courville, African Union, 2006
Bonnie D. Jenkins, Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs, 2009
Ronald “Ron” Kirk, U.S. Trade Representative, 2009
William Kennard, European Union, 2010
Michael A. Battle, African Union, 2010
Ertharin Cousin, USUN/Rome, 2010
Suzan J. Cook: At-Large: International Religious Freedom, 2011
Rueben E. Brigety, II, African Union, 2013
Daniel W. Yohannes, Organiztaion for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2013