List of ambassadors of the United States to Lesotho

Last updated

Ambassador of the United States to Lesotho
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Maria E. Brewer, U.S. Ambassador.jpg
Incumbent
Maria Brewer
since March 10, 2022
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder Richard St. F. Post
as Chargé d'affaires ad interim
FormationOctober 4, 1966
Website ls.usembassy.gov

Prior to 1965, the area of southern Africa that is now Lesotho was a Crown colony by the name of Basutoland. Along with most of the empire's other colonies and protectorates, Basutoland gained full independence from Britain in the 1960s. The nation was granted full autonomy on April 30, 1965. On October 4, 1966, Basutoland was granted independence, governed by a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament. At the same time the name of the country was changed to The Kingdom of Lesotho.

Contents

The United States immediately recognized Lesotho after the nation gained its independence. An embassy in Maseru was established on October 4, 1966, Lesotho's independence day. Richard St. F. Post was appointed as chargé d'affaires ad interim pending the arrival of an ambassador. The first ambassador, Charles J. Nelson was appointed on June 9, 1971. Until 1979 one ambassador was accredited to Lesotho, Swaziland, and Botswana. The ambassador was resident in Gaborone, Botswana.

Ambassadors

NameTitleAppointed Presented credentials Terminated missionNotes
Charles J. Nelson – Career FSO [1] Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJune 9, 1971September 23, 1971Left Gaborone, March 2, 1974
David B. Bolen – Career FSO [1] February 28, 1974April 25, 1974Left Gaborone, August 11, 1976
Donald R. Norland – Career FSO [1] [2] November 17, 1976January 6, 1977Left Gaborone, October 6, 1979Beginning in 1979, the ambassador was accredited solely to Lesotho and resident in Maseru.
John R. Clingerman – Career FSOSeptember 28, 1979November 1, 1979November 15, 1981
Keith Lapham Brown – Political appointeeMarch 9, 1982March 25, 1982December 1, 1983
Shirley Abbott – Political appointeeMay 11, 1984July 3, 1984August 18, 1986 [3]
Robert M. Smalley – Political appointeeJune 15, 1987July 2, 1987July 7, 1989
Leonard H. O. Spearman – Political appointeeOctober 22, 1990January 24, 1991April 25, 1993Karl Hoffmann served as chargé d'affaires ad interim, April 1993–April 1995.
Bismarck Myrick – Career FSOMarch 4, 1995April 27, 1995June 10, 1998
Katherine Canavan – Career FSOJune 29, 1998September 18, 1998June 1, 2001
Robert Geers Loftis – Career FSOAugust 6, 2001October 11, 2001June 18, 2004
June Carter Perry – Career FSOJuly 2, 2004September 23, 2004May 21, 2007 [4]
Robert B. Nolan – Career FSOSeptember 26, 2007October 10, 2007September 3, 2010 [5]
Michele T. Bond – Career FSOSeptember 14, 2010October 28, 2010December 4, 2012 [6]
Matthew T. Harrington – Career FSOSeptember 22, 2014October 18, 2014January 20, 2017
Rebecca Gonzales – Career FSONovember 16, 2017February 8, 2018February 4, 2022 [7]
Maria Brewer – Career FSODecember 18, 2021March 10, 2022present

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Accredited to Lesotho, Swaziland, and Botswana; resident at Gaborone.
  2. ↑ Norland was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on June 24, 1977.
  3. ↑ "Shirley Levoy Abbott - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
  4. ↑ "June Carter Perry - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
  5. ↑ "Nolan, Robert". US Department of State. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  6. ↑ "Bond, Michele Thoren". US Department of State. Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  7. ↑ "The US ambassador to Lesotho MRS. Rebecca Gonzales has paid the courtesy call to Lesotho Defense force commander for her last greetings before returning to her home country. – PC FM". 4 February 2022.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Chargé daffaires</i> Head of diplomatic mission when no higher official exists

A chargé d'affaires, plural chargés d'affaires, often shortened to chargé (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to charge-D, is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is French for "charged with business", meaning they are responsible for the duties of an ambassador. Chargé is masculine in gender; the feminine form is chargée d'affaires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Commissioner for Southern Africa</span>

The British office of high commissioner for Southern Africa was responsible for governing British possessions in Southern Africa, latterly the protectorates of Basutoland, the Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland, as well as for relations with autonomous governments in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of United States diplomatic relations by country</span>

This is a summary history of diplomatic relations of the United States listed by country. The history of diplomatic relations of the United States began with the appointment of Benjamin Franklin as U.S. Minister to France in 1778, even before the U.S. had won its independence from Great Britain in 1783.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald R. Norland</span> American diplomat

Donald Richard Norland was an American diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador to Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Chad.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.