| Post: | Ambassador |
| Body: | the United States to Finland |
| Insignia: | US Department of State official seal.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 120 |
| Insigniacaption: | Seal of the United States Department of State |
| Incumbent: | Doug Hickey |
| Incumbentsince: | May 11, 2022 |
| Nominator: | The President of the United States |
| Appointer: | The President |
| Appointer Qualified: | with Senate advice and consent |
| Inaugural: | Alexander R. Magruder as Chargé d'Affaires |
| Formation: | March 19, 1920 |
This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Finland.
Until 1917 Finland had been a subject of Russia as the Grand Duchy of Finland. As a result of the Bolshevist October Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence on December 6, 1917. On December 22 (January 4, 1918 N. S.), the highest Soviet executive body approved a decree recognizing Finland’s independence.
The United States recognized Finland as an independent state on May 7, 1919.[1] [2] A U.S. legation was established in Helsinki and the first envoy, Alexander R. Magruder, presented his credentials as Chargé d'Affaires to the government of Finland on March 19, 1920. United States–Finland relations have been continuous since that time except for a brief period in 1944–45 when the U.S. severed relations during World War II.
The U.S. Embassy in Finland is located in Helsinki in the Kaivopuisto neighborhood.
| Notes | |||||||
| Alexander R. Magruder – Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires | March 19, 1920[3] | February 17, 1922 | ||||
| Charles L. Kagey – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | October 8, 1921 | February 17, 1922 | March 24, 1925 | |||
| Alfred J. Pearson[4] – Political appointee | June 23, 1925 | September 5, 1925 | April 30, 1930 | ||||
| Edward E. Brodie – Political appointee | January 31, 1930 | May 16, 1930 | September 21, 1933 | ||||
| Edward Albright[5] – Political appointee | July 21, 1933 | October 5, 1933 | April 12, 1937 | ||||
| H. F. Arthur Schoenfeld – Career FSO | April 22, 1937 | July 2, 1937 | December 17, 1942 | ||||
| The United States severed diplomatic relations with Finland on June 30, 1944, as result of Finland’s war against the Soviet Union. At that time the Soviet Union was an ally of the United States. Edmund A. Gullion was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when the relations were severed. The United States reestablished diplomatic relations with Finland after World War II. The legation in Helsinki was reestablished September 1, 1945, with Benjamin M. Hulley as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. | |||||||
| Maxwell M. Hamilton – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | September 25, 1945 | March 26, 1946 | August 25, 1947 | |||
| Avra M. Warren – Career FSO | December 18, 1947 | February 10, 1948 | February 18, 1950 | ||||
| John M. Cabot – Career FSO | February 2, 1950 | February 27, 1950 | September 20, 1952 | ||||
| Jack K. McFall[6] – Career FSO | September 10, 1952 | November 15, 1952 | September 19, 1955 | The legation in Helsinki was raised to embassy status on September 10, 1954. Concurrently the post of Minister became that of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. | |||
| John D. Hickerson[7] – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 4, 1955 | November 23, 1955 | November 3, 1959 | |||
| Edson O. Sessions[8] – Political appointee | October 20, 1959 | November 28, 1959 | November 20, 1960 | ||||
| Bernard Gufler – Career FSO | February 24, 1961 | April 14, 1961 | April 18, 1963 | ||||
| Carl T. Rowan – Political appointee | March 9, 1963 | May 21, 1963 | February 8, 1964 | ||||
| Tyler Thompson – Career FSO | July 31, 1964 | August 25, 1964 | June 14, 1969 | ||||
| Val Peterson – Political appointee | May 1, 1969 | July 14, 1969 | March 23, 1973 | ||||
| V. John Krehbiel – Political appointee | March 27, 1973 | June 1, 1973 | February 24, 1975 | ||||
| Mark Evans Austad – Political appointee | February 20, 1975 | March 20, 1975 | April 14, 1977 | ||||
| Rozanne L. Ridgway – Career FSO | May 26, 1977 | August 5, 1977 | February 20, 1980 | ||||
| James E. Goodby – Career FSO | March 18, 1980 | April 11, 1980 | August 18, 1981 | ||||
| Keith Foote Nyborg – Political appointee | July 30, 1981 | September 18, 1981 | February 17, 1986 | ||||
| Rockwell A. Schnabel – Political appointee | December 17, 1985 | February 28, 1986 | February 24, 1989 | ||||
| John Giffen Weinmann – Political appointee | October 10, 1989 | November 10, 1989 | August 29, 1991 | ||||
| John Hubert Kelly – Career FSO | December 2, 1991 | December 20, 1991 | July 5, 1994 | ||||
| Derek Shearer – Political appointee | May 29, 1994 | July 1, 1994 | October 31, 1997 | ||||
| Eric S. Edelman – Career FSO | June 29, 1998 | August 27, 1998 | January 29, 2001 | ||||
| Bonnie McElveen-Hunter – Political appointee | November 5, 2001 | December 5, 2001 | December 15, 2003 | ||||
| Earle I. Mack – Political appointee | May 25, 2004 | June 10, 2004 | October 20, 2005 | ||||
| Marilyn Ware – Political appointee | February 7, 2006 | March 9, 2006 | March 28, 2008 | ||||
| Barbara Barrett – Political appointee | April 20, 2008 | May 23, 2008 | January 16, 2009 | ||||
| Michael Butler[9] | Chargé d'Affaires | January 16, 2009 | N/A | August 12, 2009 | |||
| Bruce J. Oreck – Political appointee[10] | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 12, 2009 | September 10, 2009 | July 25, 2015 | |||
| Charles C. Adams Jr. – Political appointee | June 24, 2015 | August 4, 2015 | January 20, 2017 | ||||
| Robert Pence – Political appointee | March 22, 2018 | May 24, 2018 | January 14, 2021 | ||||
| Ian Campbell | Chargé d'Affaires | January 14, 2021 | N/A | May 11, 2022 | |||
| Doug Hickey – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 24, 2022 | May 11, 2022 | Incumbent | |||