List of ambassadors of the United States to Vietnam

Ambassador of the United States to Vietnam
Đại sứ Hoa Kỳ tại Việt Nam
Seal of the United States Mission to Vietnam
United States ambassador flag
Incumbent Marc Knapper since February 11, 2022
Nominator	The President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Pete Peterson as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Formation	April 11, 1997
Website	U.S. Embassy - Hanoi

The United States ambassador to Vietnam (Vietnamese: Đại sứ Hoa Kỳ tại Việt Nam) is the chief American diplomat to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After the First Indochina War and the defeat of the French domination over Vietnam, the country was split into North and South Vietnam (the Republic of Vietnam) at the Geneva Conference of 1954. The United States did not recognize North Vietnam and thus had no diplomatic relations with the country. After the reunification of Vietnam in 1976, there followed a period of 20 years in which the United States had no diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

The U.S. opened a Liaison Office in Hanoi on January 28, 1995. Diplomatic relations were established July 11, 1995, and the embassy in Hanoi was established with L. Desaix Anderson as chargé d’affaires ad interim.

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".

1950 to 1975 (South Vietnam)

Since 1997


Name	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission
Pete Peterson – Political appointee^[1]	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	April 11, 1997	May 14, 1997	July 15, 2001
Raymond Burghardt – Career FSO		November 28, 2001	February 5, 2002	September 5, 2004
Michael W. Marine – Career FSO		May 6, 2004	September 10, 2004	August 10, 2007
Michael W. Michalak – Career FSO^[2]		May 24, 2007	August 10, 2007	February 14, 2011
Virginia E. Palmer – Career FSO^[3]	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	February 14, 2011	-	July 2011
David B. Shear – Career FSO^[4]	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	August 4, 2011	August 29, 2011	August 8, 2014
Ted Osius – Career FSO^[5]		December 10, 2014^[6]	December 16, 2014^[7]	November 4, 2017
Daniel Kritenbrink – Career FSO		October 27, 2017	November 6, 2017	April 15, 2021
Christopher Klein^[8]	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	April 15, 2021^[9]	-	October 15, 2021
Marie C. Damour	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	October 15, 2021^[10]	-	January 3, 2022^[11]
Marc Knapper – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	January 3, 2022^[12]	February 11, 2022^[13]	Incumbent

Residence

The house used by the U.S. ambassador was designed by M. LaCollogne, Principal Architect and Chief of Civil Construction Service in Tonkin and built in 1921 by Indochina Public Property, part of the French colonial government, for Indochina Financial Governors who lived here until 1948. The house was then assigned, until 1954, to the highest-ranking Indochina Tariff Officer. When the French left South East Asia in 1954, Vietnamese government officials moved in. Deputy Prime Minister Phan Kế Toại was the last occupant; at his death, the house became the headquarter of the Committee for Foreign Culture Exchange. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ press office was located in the building until 1994. The residence was included in an exchange of property between the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1995.^[14]

Notes

^ An earlier nomination of May 23, 1996, was not acted upon by the Senate.
^ "Biography of Ambassador Michalak - U.S. Embassy Hanoi". Archived from the original on 2011-05-01. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
^ "Former Chargé d'Affaires". United States Department of State, U.S. Embassy Hanoi. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
^ "Ambassador". United States Department of State, U.S. Embassy Hanoi. Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
^ Itkowitz, Colby (November 17, 2014). "Senate clears four ambassador nominees". Washington Post. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
^ Lavers, Michael K. (December 10, 2014). "Gay man sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Vietnam". Washington Blade. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
^ "New US Ambassador Arrives in Vietnam, Meets President". Thanh Nien News. December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
^ "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Christopher Klein". U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2021-06-05. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
^ "Technical Difficulties".
^ "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Marie C. Damour". U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
^ "Marc Knapper sworn in as new US ambassador to Vietnam". Tuoi Tre News. 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
^ @USAsiaPacific (January 3, 2022). "Congratulations to Ambassador Marc Knapper on his swearing-in as the new United States Ambassador to Vietnam! The United States supports a strong, independent, and prosperous Vietnam" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "President welcomes new ambassadors of US, Mexico". VietnamPlus. February 11, 2022.
^ U.S. Department of State, The Secretary of State's Register of Culturally Significant Property, 2007.

References

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

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Vietnam
United States Department of State: Vietnam
United States Embassy in Hanoi

United States Ambassadors to Vietnam

Republic of Vietnam
(1950–1975)

Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(1997–present)

v t e Ambassadors of the United States
Current countries	Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros DR Congo Congo Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon The Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati South Korea Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Suspended relations	Iran
Defunct countries	Czechoslovakia East Germany Hawaii North Yemen Ottoman Empire Prussia South Vietnam South Yemen Soviet Union Tanganyika Two Sicilies United Arab Republic Texas Yugoslavia
Other places	Curaçao Hong Kong and Macau Jerusalem Taiwan
International organizations	AU APEC ASEAN SAARC CD EU ICAO NATO OAS OECD OIC OPCW OSCE UN UNESCO UNEP UN Food and Agriculture UNVIE UN in Geneva UN Human Rights WTO
Ambassadors-at-large	Arctic Counterterrorism Global Women's Issues International Religious Freedom Global Criminal Justice Trafficking in Persons AIDS Antisemitism
Ambassadors by President	Donald Trump Joe Biden
Other	Women LGBT