List of ambassadors of the United States to Sudan

Ambassador of the United States to Sudan
سفارة الولايات المتحدة الأميركية فى جمهورية السودان
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent John Godfrey since September 1, 2022
Inaugural holder	Arthur E. Beach as Chargé d'Affaires
Formation	March 1956
Website	U.S. Embassy – Khartoum

The following is a list of United States ambassadors to Sudan. The first chief of mission sent by the United States was Arthur E. Beach, who presented his credentials in March 1956. From 1967 to 1972 the embassy was closed, and a U.S. Interest Section was opened in the Netherlands Embassy. In 1973 Ambassador Cleo A. Noel, Jr. was taken hostage and killed by the Black September Organization during the attack on the Saudi embassy in Khartoum. The embassy was again closed in 1996, but reopened in 2002. From 2002 to 2022, the United States posted a sequence of chargés d'affaires ad interim to the country. Ambassador-level representation resumed in 2022 with the appointment of Ambassador John Godfrey.

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".

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".


Name	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission	Notes
Arthur E. Beach^[1] – Career FSO	Chargé d'Affaires		March 17, 1956	Superseded, May 17, 1956	The Embassy in Khartoum was established Feb 15, 1956, with Beach in charge.
Lowell C. Pinkerton – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	April 12, 1956	May 17, 1956	August 25, 1957
James S. Moose, Jr. – Career FSO		March 26, 1958	April 17, 1958	May 5, 1962
William M. Rountree – Career FSO		July 3, 1962	August 2, 1962	September 17, 1965
William H. Weathersby – Career FSO		October 20, 1965	December 4, 1965	Sudan severed diplomatic relations with U.S., June 7, 1967; Weathersby left post June 18, 1967.	The Embassy in Khartoum was closed as of June 6, 1967. A U.S. Interest Section was established in the Netherlands Embassy on August 14, 1967. Principal Officers were: Cleo A. Noel, Jr. (August 1967 – June 1969), and George Curtis Moore (July 1969 – July 1972). The Embassy in Khartoum was re-established July 25, 1972, with Moore as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.
Cleo A. Noel, Jr.^[2] – Career FSO		Dec 2, 1972	Dec 23, 1972	Assassinated at post Mar 2, 1973
William D. Brewer – Career FSO		Jul 16, 1973	Sep 22, 1973	May 7, 1977
Donald C. Bergus – Career FSO		May 19, 1977	Jul 19, 1977	Apr 1, 1980
C. William Kontos – Political appointee		May 23, 1980	Jun 24, 1980	Jul 21, 1983
Hume Alexander Horan – Career FSO		Jul 6, 1983	Jul 30, 1983	Jul 4, 1986
G. Norman Anderson – Career FSO		Jun 16, 1986	Aug 12, 1986	Oct 24, 1989
James Richard Cheek – Career FSO		Oct 10, 1989	Nov 16, 1989	Aug 8, 1992
Donald K. Petterson – Career FSO		Jun 15, 1992	Aug 24, 1992	Jul 28, 1995
Timothy Michael Carney – Career FSO		Jun 27, 1995	Sep 9, 1995	November 30, 1997	Embassy Khartoum closed Feb 7, 1996; Ambassador Carney left Nairobi Nov 30, 1997.
Jeffrey Millington	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	May 23, 2002		August 2003	Embassy Khartoum was reopened May 23, 2002
Gerard M. Gallucci		August 2003		September 2004
David Kaeuper		February 2005		May 2005
John Limbert		July 2005		September 2005
Cameron R. Hume		October 2005		May 2007
Alberto M. Fernandez		June 2007		May 2009
Robert E. Whitehead		May 2009		July 2011
Mary Carlin Yates		September 2011		February 2012
Joseph D. Stafford III		June 2012		May 13, 2014
Jerry P. Lanier		May 13, 2014		February 26, 2016
Steven Koutsis		July 7, 2016		September 10, 2019
Brian W. Shukan		October 2019		January 2022
Lucy Tamlyn		February 3, 2022		August 24, 2022
John Godfrey – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 14, 2022	September 1, 2022	Incumbent

Notes

^ Not commissioned; letter of credence dated Mar 2, 1956.
^ Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on February 8, 1973.

References

United States Department of State: Background notes on Sudan
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.