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List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom
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| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| post | Ambassador |
| body | the |
| United States of America to the | |
| Court of St James's | |
| flag | Flag of a United States ambassador.svg |
| flagsize | 200 |
| flagborder | yes |
| flagcaption | Flag of the United States ambassador |
| insignia | U.S. Department of State official seal.svg |
| insigniasize | 120 |
| insigniacaption | Seal of the United States Department of State |
| image | United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Warren Amerine Stephens.jpg |
| incumbent | Warren Stephens |
| incumbentsince | May 21, 2025 |
| department | U.S. Department of State |
| style | His or Her Excellency (formal) |
| Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal) | |
| residence | Winfield House |
| seat | Embassy of the United States, London, United Kingdom |
| reports_to | United States Secretary of State |
| appointer | President of the United States |
| appointer_qualified | with the advice and consent of the Senate |
| termlength | At the pleasure of the president |
| inaugural | John Adams (as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James's) |
| formation | 1785 |
| website |
United States of America to the Court of St James's Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, formally the ambassador of the United States of America to the Court of St James's, is the official representative of the president and the United States government to the British monarch (the Court of St James's) and the government of the United Kingdom. The position is currently held by Warren Stephens, who presented his credentials to King Charles III on May 21, 2025.
The position is regarded as one of the most prestigious posts in the United States Foreign Service due to the "special relationship" between the United States and the United Kingdom. The ambassadorship has been held by various notable politicians, including five who would later become president: John Adams, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan. However, the modern tendency of American presidents (of both parties) is to appoint keen political fundraisers from previous presidential campaigns, despite the importance and prestige of the office.
The ambassador and executive staff work at the American Embassy in Nine Elms, London. The official residence of the ambassador is Winfield House in Regent's Park.
Duties
The ambassador's main duty is to present U.S. policies to the government of the United Kingdom and its people, as well as report British policies and views to the federal government of the United States. The ambassador serves as a primary channel of communication between the two nations and plays an important role in treaty negotiations.
The ambassador is the head of the United States' consular service in the United Kingdom. As well as directing diplomatic activity in support of trade, the ambassador is ultimately responsible for visa services and for the provision of consular support to American citizens in the UK and oversees cultural relations between the two countries.
List of U.S. chiefs of mission to the Court of St James's
Ministers (1785–1812)
Independent
Democratic-Republican
Democrat
Whig
Republican
John Adams is referred to as the first "ambassador". He is also referred to as the first "minister plenipotentiary". Plenipotentiary means "having full power"; a minister that has power to act for their country in all matters.
| Name | Portrait | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Appointer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Gilbert Stuart, John Adams, c. 1800-1815, NGA 42933.jpg | 50px]] | Congress | |||||
| [[File:Thomas Pinckney.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Gilbert Stuart - Portrait of Rufus King (1819-1820) - Google Art Project.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:James Monroe (1758-1831).jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Williampinkney (1).jpg | 50px]] |
Ministers (1815–1893)
Diplomatic relations with what had now become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were restored after the War of 1812. The Congress of Vienna (1815) established a uniform system of diplomatic rank. Under that system, the highest rank of "ambassador" was a personal representative of a sovereign, and the next rank of "minister", represented a government. As a republic, the United States maintained diplomatic relations with Britain at the rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. The rank was colloquially known as Minister, and the position continued to be referred to as "United States Minister to Great Britain".
| Name | Portrait | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Appointer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:George P.A. Healy - John Quincy Adams - Google Art Project.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Richard Rush engraving.png | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Gilbert Stuart - Portrait of Rufus King (1819-1820) - Google Art Project.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:AlbertGallatin.jpeg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:William Lawrence by J Cochran c 1820.jpg | 50px]] | Nov 23, 1827 | November 24, 1828 | ||||
| [[File:BarbourT.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:LMcLane.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Martin Van Buren.jpg | 50px]] | Eighth president of the United States | |||||
| [[File:Aaron Vail in 1845.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:SpeakerStevenson.png | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:The Public Library of the city of Boston - a history (1911) (14594074519) (cropped).jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:LMcLane.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:George Bancroft United States Secretary of Navy c. 1860.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Abbott Lawrence.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Appletons' Ingersoll Jared - Joseph Reed.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:James Buchanan.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:George Mifflin Dallas 1848.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Charles Francis Adams crop.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Reverdy Johnson.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:John Lothrop Motley - Brady-Handy.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Robert C. Schenck.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Edwards Pierrepont Brady-Handy.tif | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:John Welsh 1805-1886.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Appletons' Lowell James Russell engraving.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Professor Edward J Phelps.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||
| [[File:Robert Todd Lincoln - Harris and Ewing.jpg | 50px]] |
Ambassadors (1893–present)
Although France became a republic in 1870, the country continued to exchange ambassadors with other Great Powers. In 1893, the United States followed the French precedent and upgraded its relations with other Great Powers to the ambassadorial level. The United States Legation in London became the United States Embassy, and the United States Minister to Great Britain became the United States Ambassador to Great Britain.
| Name | Portrait | Appointment | Presentation | Termination | Appointer | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Thomas F. Bayard, Brady-Handy photo portrait, circa 1870-1880.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:John Hay, bw photo portrait, 1897.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Joseph Hodges Choate cph.3b35057.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Whitelaw Reid, 1912.png | 50px]] | † | |||||||
| [[File:Walter Hines Page in 1917.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:John William Davis.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:George Brinton McClellan Harvey (crop).jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:FrankKellogg.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:AlansonBHoughton.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Chas G Dawes-H&E.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:AWMellon.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Robert-Worth-Bingham.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. 1938.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:John Gilbert Winant.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:William Averell Harriman.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Lewis Williams Douglas.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:GIFFORD, WALTER LCCN2016859804.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Winthrop Williams Aldrich - War Records of the Knickerbocker Club.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:John-Hay-Whitney-1933.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:David K. E. Bruce.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Walter Annenberg 1981.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:ElliotLeeRichardson.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Anne Armstrong 1982.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Kingman Brewster Jr., photographic portrait -1951.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:John Louis and Ronald Reagan in 1981.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Charles H Price II.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Ambassador Henry Catto speaks on his experiences as a diplomat (cropped).jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Raymond G. H. Seitz (page 10 crop).jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Adm William Crowe Jr.JPG | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Philip Lader.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:William S. Farish.gif | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Robert Holmes Tuttle.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Louis Susman US State Dept photo.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Matthew Winthrop Barzun.jpg | 50px]] | January 18, 2017 | |||||||
| [[File:Lewis Lukens ambassador 2011.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Robert Wood Johnson official portrait (cropped).jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Yael Lempert.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Philip T. Reeker.jpg | 50px]] | title=Biden selects Jane Hartley as ambassador to U.K. (July 16, 2021) | newspaper=The Washington Post | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-hartley-uk-ambassador/2021/07/16/78ed02ce-e63b-11eb-934f-7e6c1927f261_story.html/}} | |||||
| [[File:Priti Patel and Jane Hartley (cropped).jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:Matthew Palmer official portrait.jpg | 50px]] | ||||||||
| [[File:United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Warren Amerine Stephens.jpg | 50px]] | Incumbent |
Notes
References
References
- "After presenting my diplomatic credentials at Buckingham Palace, I was joined by my wife Harriet...".
- "Ambassador's Residence - Winfield House".
- "Recent Ambassadors to the United Kingdom".
- . (May 22, 2025). ["Court Circular: May 21, 2025"](https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/court-circular-may-21-2025-tdgdl523f). *The Times*.
- (2002). "The Kennedys: An American Drama".
- (November 28, 2019). "U.S. ambassadorships are destination tourism for the mega-rich". [[The Washington Post]].
- "John Adams - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com".
- "Eyewitness".
- "Definition of "Plenipotentiary"".
- "United Kingdom". US Department of State.
- "House Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents: 13th Congress, 2d Session-49th Congress, 1st Session". United States Congress.
- (1894). "Officers and Graduates of Columbia College: Originally the College of the Province of New York Known as King's College. General Catalogue, 1754-1894". Columbia College.
- (5 January 2017). "In Break With Precedent, Obama Envoys Are Denied Extensions Past Inauguration Day". The New York Times.
- "Biography of Ambassador Matthew W. Barzun". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom.
- (January 19, 2017). "New York Jets owner Woody Johnson to be US ambassador to UK". [[The Guardian]].
- (July 20, 2022). "Ambassador Jane Hartley presents her credentials to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II".
- "Biden selects Jane Hartley as ambassador to U.K. (July 16, 2021)". [[The Washington Post]].
- "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i., Matthew Palmer (n.d.)". U.S. Embassy.
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