Post: | Ambassador |
Body: | the United States to Burma |
Insignia: | US Department of State official seal.svg |
Insigniasize: | 120px |
Insigniacaption: | Seal of the United States Department of State |
Incumbent: | Susan N. Stevenson Chargés d'Affaires ad interim |
Incumbentsince: | July 10, 2023[1] |
Style: | Ambassador |
Residence: | Rangoon, Burma |
Nominator: | The President of the United States |
Appointer: | The President |
Appointer Qualified: | with Senate advice and consent |
Inaugural: | J. Klahr Huddle as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |
Formation: | October 17, 1947 |
This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Burma. In 1989 the military government of Burma changed the name of the nation to Myanmar, but the United States government—and all other Western governments—do not accept the name and still refer to the country as Burma in official usage.[2]
Burma became a province of India in 1886 under the British Raj. The country was occupied by Japan during World War II but after the war, again came under control of Britain. In 1946 Britain began negotiations with the Burmese to establish independence for the nation, and reached a final agreement on January 27, 1947. A transitional government was established and Burma became fully independent on January 4, 1948.
The United States recognized Burma and established the Embassy of the United States, Rangoon on September 19, 1947, with Earl L. Packer as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.
After 1990 the United States appointed no ambassador to Burma in protest against the policies of the military regime. A chargé d'affaires became the head of mission until 2012.
Notes | |||||
J. Klahr Huddle[3] – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 17, 1947 | March 3, 1948 | November 28, 1949 | |
David McK. Key – Career FSO | March 17, 1950 | April 26, 1950 | October 28, 1951 | ||
William J. Sebald – Career FSO | April 25, 1952 | July 18, 1952 | July 15, 1954 | ||
Joseph C. Satterthwaite – Career FSO | April 4, 1955 | May 10, 1955 | April 1, 1957 | ||
Walter P. McConaughy – Career FSO | May 20, 1957 | August 20, 1957 | November 2, 1959 | ||
William P. Snow[4] – Career FSO | November 9, 1959 | December 1, 1959 | May 4, 1961 | ||
John Scott Everton[5] – Career FSO | May 4, 1961 | June 10, 1961 | May 21, 1963 | ||
Henry A. Byroade – Career FSO | September 10, 1963 | October 7, 1963 | June 11, 1968 | ||
Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. – Career FSO | September 26, 1968 | October 1968 | July 22, 1971 | ||
Edwin W. Martin – Career FSO | August 10, 1971 | October 1, 1971 | November 20, 1973 | ||
David L. Osborn – Career FSO | February 28, 1974 | March 22, 1974 | July 25, 1977 | Osborn and subsequent ambassadors were commissioned to the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. | |
Maurice Darrow Bean – Career FSO | September 19, 1977 | November 8, 1977 | August 10, 1979 | ||
Patricia M. Byrne – Career FSO | November 27, 1979 | January 14, 1980 | September 14, 1983 | ||
Daniel Anthony O'Donohue – Career FSO | November 14, 1983 | December 26, 1983 | December 16, 1986 | ||
Burton Levin – Career FSO | April 7, 1987 | May 26, 1987 | September 30, 1990 | No ambassador was appointed to replace Levin. The U.S. was represented by a succession of chargés d'affaires. | |
Derek Mitchell – Career FSO | July 5, 2012 | July 11, 2012 | March 14, 2016 | ||
Scot Marciel – Career FSO | March 2, 2016 | April 27, 2016 | May 15, 2020 | ||
Thomas Vajda – Career FSO | November 18, 2020 | January 19, 2021 | December 17, 2022 |