United States Ambassador to Cambodia
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Cambodia
.
Until 1953 Cambodia had been French protectorate
as a part of French Indochina
, but became independent on November 9, 1953. The United States had appointed its first envoy to Cambodia, Donald R. Heath
, in 1950. Heath was a non-resident minister who was commissioned to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, while resident in Saigon.
Diplomatic relations between Cambodia and the United States were broken twice: The first time between 1965 and 1969, and the second time in 1975 just before the Pol Pot
regime gained control of the country. Relations were finally restored in 1991.
The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia is located in Phnom Penh
.
Note: Legation
Phnom Penh was raised to embassy status, June 25, 1952. Concurrently the Minister was promoted to Ambassador.
Note: Cambodia severed diplomatic relations with the United States on May 3, 1965. Alf E. Bergesen was serving as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in the embassy at that time.
Note: After Lon Nol
deposed Prince Norodom Sihanouk
, diplomatic relations were resumed, and the embassy in Phnom Penh was reestablished on August 16, 1969, with Lloyd M. Rives as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
Note: On October 9, 1970, the government of Cambodia renamed the country the Khmer Republic
.
Note: Embassy Phnom Penh was closed on April 12, 1975, following the evacuation of all U.S. personnel
. Five days later, April 17, the government of Cambodia surrendered to the Khmer Rouge
.
Note: The U.S. Mission to Cambodia was established November 11, 1991, with Charles H. Twining as U.S. Representative. He was subsequently promoted to ambassador.
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
.
Until 1953 Cambodia had been French protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
as a part of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, but became independent on November 9, 1953. The United States had appointed its first envoy to Cambodia, Donald R. Heath
Donald R. Heath
Donald Read Heath was a member of the United States Foreign Service for more than four decades including service as the Ambassador to Cambodia , Laos , Vietnam , Lebanon and Saudi Arabia...
, in 1950. Heath was a non-resident minister who was commissioned to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, while resident in Saigon.
Diplomatic relations between Cambodia and the United States were broken twice: The first time between 1965 and 1969, and the second time in 1975 just before the Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
regime gained control of the country. Relations were finally restored in 1991.
The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia is located in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
.
Ambassadors
- Donald R. HeathDonald R. HeathDonald Read Heath was a member of the United States Foreign Service for more than four decades including service as the Ambassador to Cambodia , Laos , Vietnam , Lebanon and Saudi Arabia...
– Career FSO- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 29, 1950
- Presented credentials: July 11, 1950
- Terminated mission: Promoted to Ambassador June 25, 1952
Note: Legation
Legation
A legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....
Phnom Penh was raised to embassy status, June 25, 1952. Concurrently the Minister was promoted to Ambassador.
- Donald R. HeathDonald R. HeathDonald Read Heath was a member of the United States Foreign Service for more than four decades including service as the Ambassador to Cambodia , Laos , Vietnam , Lebanon and Saudi Arabia...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 25, 1952
- Presented credentials: July 12, 1952
- Terminated mission: Superseded by his successor, October 2, 1954
- Robert McClintock – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 18, 1954
- Presented credentials: October 2, 1954
- Terminated mission: Left post October 15, 1956
- Carl W. Strom – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 11, 1956
- Presented credentials: December 7, 1956
- Terminated mission: Left post March 8, 1959
- William C. Trimble – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: February 16, 1959
- Presented credentials: April 23, 1959
- Terminated mission: Left post June 8, 1962
- Philip D. Sprouse – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 28, 1962
- Presented credentials: August 20, 1962
- Terminated mission: Left post March 3, 1964
- Randolph A. Kidder – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 9, 1964
- Presented credentials: Did not present credentials
- Terminated mission: September 18, 1964
Note: Cambodia severed diplomatic relations with the United States on May 3, 1965. Alf E. Bergesen was serving as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in the embassy at that time.
Note: After Lon Nol
Lon Nol
Lon Nol was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice, as well as serving repeatedly as Defense Minister...
deposed Prince Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
, diplomatic relations were resumed, and the embassy in Phnom Penh was reestablished on August 16, 1969, with Lloyd M. Rives as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
Note: On October 9, 1970, the government of Cambodia renamed the country the Khmer Republic
Khmer Republic
The Khmer Republic or République Khmère, was the republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on October 9, 1970. The Khmer Republic was disestablished in 1975 and was followed by the totalitarian communist state known as Democratic Kampuchea.-Background:Formally declared on October...
.
- Emory C. SwankEmory C. SwankEmory Coblentz Swank was a United States Ambassador to Cambodia from 1970-1973.- External links:*...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 3, 1970
- Presented credentials: September 15, 1970
- Terminated mission: Left post September 5, 1973
- John Gunther DeanJohn Gunther DeanJohn Gunther Dean is a distinguished career United States diplomat. From 1974-1988, Dean served as the United States Ambassador to five different nations under four different U.S. Presidents.-Early years:...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: March 14, 1974
- Presented credentials: April 3, 1974
- Terminated mission: Left post April 12, 1975
Note: Embassy Phnom Penh was closed on April 12, 1975, following the evacuation of all U.S. personnel
Operation Eagle Pull
Operation Eagle Pull was the American evacuation by air of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 12 April, 1975. At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, the last remaining stronghold of the Khmer Republic, was surrounded by the Khmer Rouge and totally dependent on aerial resupply through Pochentong Airport...
. Five days later, April 17, the government of Cambodia surrendered to the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
.
Note: The U.S. Mission to Cambodia was established November 11, 1991, with Charles H. Twining as U.S. Representative. He was subsequently promoted to ambassador.
- Charles H. Twining – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: May 13, 1994
- Presented credentials: May 17, 1994
- Terminated mission: Left post November 20, 1995
- Kenneth M. Quinn – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: December 12, 1995
- Presented credentials: March 28, 1996
- Terminated mission: Left post July 25, 1999
- Kent M. WiedemannKent M. WiedemannKent M. Wiedemann served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Burma from October 1996 to May 1999, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 7, 1999
- Presented credentials: August 31, 1999
- Terminated mission: Left post May 16, 2002
- Charles A. RayCharles A. RayCharles Aaron Ray has been the U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe since 2009. He is a Foreign Service Officer, career member of the Senior Foreign Service, author, and retired U.S...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 15, 2002
- Presented credentials: January 4, 2003
- Terminated mission: Left post July 11, 2005
- Joseph A. MussomeliJoseph A. MussomeliAmbassador Joseph Adamo Mussomeli is an employee of the U.S. Department of State and is currently the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia.-Early life:...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 27, 2005
- Presented credentials: September 22, 2005
- Terminated mission: c. August 2008
- Carol A. Rodley – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 24, 2008
- Presented credentials: Unknown
- Terminated mission: Incumbent
See also
- Cambodia – United States relations
- Foreign relations of CambodiaForeign relations of CambodiaThe Royal Cambodian Government has established diplomatic relations with most countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, as well as all of its Asian neighbors, to include the People's Republic of China, Vietnam, Laos, South Korea, North Korea, and Thailand...
- Ambassadors of the United States