List of ambassadors of the United States to Tunisia

Ambassador of the United States to Tunisia
سفارة الولايات المتحدة في تونس
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Joey R. Hood
since February 2, 2023[1]
NominatorThe President of the United States
Inaugural holderMorris N. Hughes
as Chargé d'Affaires
FormationJune 6, 1956
WebsiteU.S. Embassy – Tunis

The following is a list of United States ambassadors to Tunisia.

History: US Consul in Tunis

  • 1795–1796: Joseph Donaldson Jr. (Consul in Algiers)
  • 1795–1797: Samuel D. Heap (acting consul)
  • 1796–1797: Joseph Étienne Famin (French, Special Diplomatic Agent)
    • 1797–1797: William Eaton (Treaty Negotiator)
    • 1797–1797: Samuel D. Heap (Treaty Negotiator)
  • 1797–1803: William Eaton (Consul)
    • 1798–1798: James Leander Cathcart (Treaty Negotiator)
    • 1798–1798: Richard O'brien (Special Negotiator)
  • 1803–1803: James Leander Cathcart (Consul)
  • 1813–1815: Mordecai Manuel Noah
  • 1815–1819: Thomas D. Anderson
  • 1819–1824: Townsend Stith
  • 1824–1825: Charles D. (b) Coxe
  • 1825–1841: Samuel D. Heap
  • 1842–1845: John Howard Payne
  • 1851–1852: John Howard Payne
  • 1862 – ?: Amos Perry

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".
Name Title Appointed Presented credentials Terminated mission Notes
Morris N. Hughes[2] – Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires June 6, 1956 June 6, 1956 October 4, 1956
G. Lewis Jones – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 27, 1956 October 4, 1956 June 11, 1959 Presented new credentials on December 9, 1957, when Tunisia became a republic
Walter N. Walmsley – Career FSO July 28, 1959 October 4, 1959 July 25, 1962
Francis H. Russell – Career FSO September 10, 1962 October 16, 1962 July 18, 1969
John A. Calhoun – Career FSO July 8, 1969 July 24, 1969 May 31, 1972
Talcott W. Seelye – Career FSO September 11, 1972 October 20, 1972 March 22, 1976
Edward W. Mulcahy – Career FSO March 4, 1976 May 31, 1976 January 5, 1979
Stephen Warren Bosworth – Career FSO February 9, 1979 March 27, 1979 June 22, 1981
Walter Leon Cutler – Career FSO December 11, 1981 March 2, 1982 January 2, 1984
Peter Sebastian – Career FSO June 11, 1984 July 3, 1984 February 19, 1987
Robert H. Pelletreau – Career FSO June 15, 1987 July 1, 1987 May 11, 1991
John T. McCarthy – Career FSO July 2, 1991 August 2, 1991 July 16, 1994
Mary Ann Casey – Career FSO July 5, 1994 September 23, 1994 July 18, 1997
Robin Lynn Raphel – Career FSO November 7, 1997 December 18, 1997 August 6, 2000
Rust Macpherson Deming – Career FSO December 28, 2000 November 30, 2001 May 17, 2003
William J. Hudson – Career FSO December 12, 2003 January 12, 2004 April 14, 2006
Robert F. Godec – Career FSO May 30, 2006 January 17, 2007 July 29, 2009
Gordon Gray – Career FSO August 20, 2009 November 19, 2009 July 5, 2012
Jacob Walles – Career FSO June 21, 2012 July 24, 2012 September 2, 2015
Daniel Rubinstein – Career FSO October 15, 2015 October 26, 2015 January 15, 2019
Donald Blome – Career FSO January 9, 2019 February 21, 2019 April 5, 2022
Joey R. Hood – Career FSO December 26, 2022 February 2, 2023 Incumbent

Notes

  1. ^ "U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia Joey R. Hood, U.S. Embassy Tunisia".
  2. ^ Neither commissioned nor accredited; designated effective June 5, 1956, on which date the Embassy in Tunis was established. Officially recognized on June 6, 1956.

See also

References

External links

  • United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Tunisia
  • United States Department of State: Tunisia
  • United States Embassy in Tunis
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