List of ambassadors of the United States to Iceland explained

Post:Ambassador
Body:the United States to Iceland
Flag:Flag of a United States ambassador.svg
Flagcaption:United States ambassador flag
Insignia:US Department of State official seal.svg
Insigniasize:120px
Insigniacaption:Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent:Carrin Patman
Incumbentsince:October 6, 2022
Nominator:The President of the United States
Appointer:The President
Appointer Qualified:with Senate advice and consent

Until 1874, Iceland was a dependency of Denmark rather than an independent nation. In 1874, Denmark granted Iceland home rule, which again was expanded in 1904. In 1918, The Act of Union, an agreement between Denmark, recognized Iceland as a fully sovereign state united with Denmark under a common king. Iceland established its own flag and asked that Denmark represent its foreign affairs and defense interests; thus, the United States ambassador to Denmark conducted foreign relations between the United States and Iceland.

The German invasion and occupation of Denmark on, severed communications between Iceland and Denmark. As a result, on April 10, the Parliament of Iceland elected to take control of their own foreign affairs. The United States thus commissioned Lincoln MacVeagh as its first ambassador to Iceland on . MacVeagh presented his credentials to the foreign minister of Iceland on . His title was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. The US has maintained continuous diplomatic relations with Iceland since then.

Following a plebiscite, Iceland formally became an independent republic on .

The current ambassador is Carrin Patman, who presented her credentials to President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson on October 6, 2022.[1]

List of ambassadors

NameTitleAppointmentPresentation of credentialsTermination of missionNature of appointmentNature of termination
1Lincoln MacVeaghEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary1941-08-081941-09-301942-06-27Political appointeeLeft post
2Leland Burnette Morris1942-08-131942-10-071944-05-10Career FSORelinquished charge
3Louis Goethe Dreyfus, Jr.1944-03-211944-06-141946-10-21Left post
4Richard P. Butrick1948-02-261948-04-291949-08-10
5Edward B. Lawson1949-07-221949-09-221954-05-29
6John Joseph Muccio1954-08-231954-10-121955-10-19Mission title changed
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary1955-10-191955-11-031959-12-16Left post
7Tyler Thompson1960-01-271960-02-191961-04-16
8James K. Penfield1961-04-271961-05-241967-03-16
9Karl Fritjof Rolvaag1967-04-051967-05-091969-03-27Political appointee
10Luther I. Replogle1969-07-081969-09-121972-06-15
11Frederick Irving1972-09-111972-10-111976-04-21Career FSO
12James J. Blake1976-07-011976-09-081978-09-29
13Richard A. Ericson, Jr.[2] 1978-10-121978-11-211981-08-15
14Marshall Brement1981-07-271981-09-161985-08-01
15L. Nicholas Ruwe1985-07-121985-08-211989-10-07Political appointee
16Charles Elvan Cobb, Jr.1989-10-101989-11-081992-01-10
17Sigmund Rogich1992-05-111992-06-041993-10-14
18Parker W. Borg1993-10-081993-11-241996-07-13Career FSO
19Day O. Mount1996-06-111996-09-031999-08-12
20Barbara J. Griffiths1999-08-091999-09-292002-07-29
21James Irvin Gadsden2002-10-032002-12-092005-07-14
22Carol van Voorst2006-01-032006-01-262009-04-30
23Luis E. Arreaga2010-09-102010-09-202013-11-23
24Robert C. Barber2015-01-022015-01-282017-01-20Political appointee
25Jeffrey Ross Gunter2019-05-232019-07-022021-01-20
26Carrin Patman2022-08-072022-10-06Incumbent

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. PresidentISL . Guðni Thorlacius . Jóhannesson . 1578061584907247618 . Today H.E. Carrin Patman presented her credentials as the new US Ambassador to Iceland. . October 15, 2022.
  2. Web site: 27 March 1995 . The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR RICHARD A. ERICSON, JR. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240717142844/https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/ERICSON,%20Richard%20A.toc.pdf . 17 July 2024 . 17 July 2024 . Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.