United States Ambassador to Burundi
Encyclopedia
The part of Africa
that is now Burundi
and Rwanda
was a feudal
monarchy
headed by a mwami
(king) and a ganwa, a feudal hierarchy of Tutsi
nobles and gentry until 1890. In that year the Germans attacked the nation and attempted to subdue it with armed force. Eventually the Germans backed an attempted coup d’état
against the king, Mwezi Gisanbo
. The coup was unsuccessful, but Gisabo was eventually forced to concede and agreed to German suzerainty. The Germans then helped him suppress the revolt. Thus Burundi became part of German East Africa
in 1890.
In 1915 during The Great War
, Belgian
troops from Zaire
drove the small number of Germans out of Burundi and took control of the country.
After World War I Germany lost its overseas possessions and the League of Nations
mandated
Burundi and its southern neighbor, Rwanda
, to Belgium as the territory of Ruanda-Urundi
in 1923. The western kingdoms of Ruanda-Urundi were stripped from the old colonies and given to British
-administered Tanganyika
. The Belgians administered the territory through indirect rule, building on the Tutsi-dominated aristocratic hierarchy.
Following World War II
, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory
with Belgium as the administrative authority.
In June 1962 the UN General Assembly
terminated the Belgian trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda and Burundi. The United States immediately recognized
the Burundian government and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The U.S. Embassy in the capital Usumbura (now Bujumbura
) was established on July 1, 1962, with Herbert V. Olds as Chargé d'Affaires
ad interim
. Donald A. Dumont was appointed as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Burundi on October 25, 1962.
The rank of the mission was changed to Legation effective December 15, 1962, and to Embassy again effective September 16, 1963.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
that is now Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
and Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
was a feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
headed by a mwami
Mwami
Mwami is the chiefly title in Kirundi and Kinyarwanda, the Congolese Nande and Bashi languages, Luhya in Kenya and various other Bantu languages, such as the Tonga language . The word is usually translated as king...
(king) and a ganwa, a feudal hierarchy of Tutsi
Tutsi
The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
nobles and gentry until 1890. In that year the Germans attacked the nation and attempted to subdue it with armed force. Eventually the Germans backed an attempted coup d’état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
against the king, Mwezi Gisanbo
Mwezi IV Gisabo of Burundi
Mwami Mwezi IV Gisabo Bikata-Bijoga was the king of Burundi from 1852 to 1908. He was the son of king Ntare IV Rutaganzwa Rugamba....
. The coup was unsuccessful, but Gisabo was eventually forced to concede and agreed to German suzerainty. The Germans then helped him suppress the revolt. Thus Burundi became part of German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
in 1890.
In 1915 during The Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
troops from Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
drove the small number of Germans out of Burundi and took control of the country.
After World War I Germany lost its overseas possessions and the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
mandated
League of Nations mandate
A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League...
Burundi and its southern neighbor, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, to Belgium as the territory of Ruanda-Urundi
Ruanda-Urundi
Ruanda-Urundi was a Belgian suzerainty from 1916 to 1924, a League of Nations Class B Mandate from 1924 to 1945 and then a United Nations trust territory until 1962, when it became the independent states of Rwanda and Burundi.- Overview :...
in 1923. The western kingdoms of Ruanda-Urundi were stripped from the old colonies and given to British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
-administered Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
. The Belgians administered the territory through indirect rule, building on the Tutsi-dominated aristocratic hierarchy.
Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory
United Nations Trust Territories
United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the UN Trusteeship Council...
with Belgium as the administrative authority.
In June 1962 the UN General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
terminated the Belgian trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda and Burundi. The United States immediately recognized
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
the Burundian government and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The U.S. Embassy in the capital Usumbura (now Bujumbura
Bujumbura
-Education:The University of Burundi is located in Bujumbura.Hope Africa University is located in BujumburaUniversité du Lac Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura-External links:**...
) was established on July 1, 1962, with Herbert V. Olds as Chargé d'Affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
ad interim
Ad interim
The Latin phrase ad interim literally means "in the time between" denotes the meaning of "in the meantime", "for an intervening time" or "temporarily" in the English language...
. Donald A. Dumont was appointed as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Burundi on October 25, 1962.
The rank of the mission was changed to Legation effective December 15, 1962, and to Embassy again effective September 16, 1963.
Ambassadors
- Donald A. Dumont – Career FSO
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 25, 1962
- Presented credentials: January 17, 1963
- Terminated mission: Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary August 1, 1963
- Donald A. Dumont – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 1, 1963
- Presented credentials: September 16, 1963
- Terminated mission: Recall requested by Govt. of Burundi, December 29, 1965 (request received, January 10, 1966). Dumont left post, January 11, 1966.
- George W. Renchard – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 24, 1968
- Presented credentials: August 10, 1968
- Terminated mission: Left post, October 15, 1969
- Thomas Patrick MeladyThomas Patrick MeladyThomas Patrick Melady served as an American ambassador under three presidents and as a sub-cabinet officer for a fourth, and remains active in foreign affairs and international relations. Since 2002, he is Senior Diplomat in residence at The Institute of World Politics in Washington, DC.After his...
– Political appointee- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 4, 1969
- Presented credentials: January 31, 1970
- Terminated mission: Left post, May 25, 1972
- Robert L. Yost – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 27, 1972
- Presented credentials: August 19, 1972
- Terminated mission: Left post, May 26, 1974
- David E. MarkDavid E. MarkDavid Everett Mark was a Career Minister in the United States Foreign Service.Born in New York City to Leslie Mark and Lena Tyor Mark, Mark graduated from Columbia University, and while serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he completed his studies at Columbia Law School. He joined...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 20, 1974
- Presented credentials: September 4, 1974
- Terminated mission: Left post, August 26, 1977
- Thomas J. Corcoran – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: March 2, 1978
- Presented credentials: April 6, 1978
- Terminated mission: Left post, August 19, 1980
- Frances D. Cook – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 30, 1980
- Presented credentials: September 25, 1980
- Terminated mission: Left post March 15, 1983
- James R. Bullington – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: March 13, 1983
- Presented credentials: April 14, 1983
- Terminated mission: Left post, July 11, 1986
- James Daniel Phillips – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 16, 1986
- Presented credentials: November 20, 1986
- Terminated mission: Left post, January 12, 1990
- Cynthia Shepard Perry – Political appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 21, 1989
- Presented credentials: February 12, 1990
- Terminated mission: Left post, February 28, 1993
- Note: The post was vacant from March 1993 to June 1994. Leonard J. Lange, Career FSO, served as chargé d'affaires ad interim during that period.
- Robert Krueger – Political appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: May 9, 1994
- Presented credentials: June 29, 1994
- Terminated mission: Left post, September 10, 1995
- Morris N. Hughes, Jr. – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 11, 1996
- Presented credentials: June 27, 1996
- Terminated mission: Left post May 14, 1999
- Mary Carlin YatesMary Carlin YatesMary Carlin Yates is a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. State Department and was one of two deputy commanders of the United States Africa Command until June 2009....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 16, 1999
- Presented credentials: December 15, 1999
- Terminated mission: Left post June 19, 2002
- James Howard Yellin – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 8, 2002
- Presented credentials: September 26, 2002
- Terminated mission: Left post, July 21, 2005
- Patricia N. Moller –
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 27, 2005
- Presented credentials: March 4, 2006
- Terminated mission: 2009
- Pamela J. H. SlutzPamela J. H. SlutzPamela Jo Howell Slutz is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service currently serving as U.S. Ambassador to Burundi. From 2006 to 2009, she was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. And from 2003 to 2006 she served as U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia.- Career :Pamela...
- Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 2, 2009
- Presented credentials: Unknown
- Terminated mission:
See also
- Burundi – United States relations
- Foreign relations of BurundiForeign relations of BurundiBurundi's relations with its neighbours have often been affected by security concerns. Hundreds of thousands of Burundian refugees have at various times crossed to neighboring Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians are in neighboring...
- Ambassadors from the United StatesAmbassadors from the United StatesThis is a list of ambassadors of the United States to individual nations of the world, to international organizations, to past nations, and ambassadors-at-large.Ambassadors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate...