United States Ambassador to Austria

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Formation February 8, 1838		Website U.S. Embassy - Vienna

Nominator The President of the United States Inaugural holder Henry A. P. Muhlenberg as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Austria.

The United States first established diplomatic relations with Austria in 1838 during the time of the Austrian Empire. Relations between the United States have been continuous since that time except for two interruptions during World War I and World War II.

The first ambassadors were accredited to the Austrian Empire. In 1867 the empire became Austria–Hungary and the ambassadors were so commissioned. After the resumption of diplomatic relations following World War I, the ambassadors were commissioned to Austria.

For ambassadors to Hungary after the dissolution of the empire, see United States Ambassador to Hungary.

The United States Embassy in Austria is located in Vienna.

Ambassadors

Henry A. P. Muhlenberg

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: February 8, 1838

Presented credentials: November 7, 1838

Terminated mission: Left post, September 18, 1840

Daniel Jenifer

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: August 27, 1841

Presented credentials: March 30, 1842

Terminated mission: Presented recall, June 28–July 7, 1845

Note: From 1845 until 1854 there was no U.S. minister present. The U.S. was represented by a succession of chargés d’affaires.

William H. Stiles

Title: Chargé d'Affaires

Appointed: April 19, 1845

Presented credentials: August 5, 1845

Terminated mission: Left post, August 1, 1849

James Watson Webb

Title: Chargé d'Affaires

Appointed: November 1, 1849

Presented credentials: February 6, 1850

Terminated mission: Left post, May 8, 1850

Charles J. McCurdy

Title: Chargé d'Affaires

Appointed: September 27, 1850

Presented credentials: March 14, 1851

Terminated mission: Had farewell audience, October 12, 1852

Thomas M. Foote

Title: Chargé d'Affaires

Appointed: September 16, 1852

Presented credentials: December 14, 1852

Terminated mission: Presented recall, June 25, 1853

Henry R. Jackson

Title: Chargé d'Affaires

Appointed: May 24, 1853

Presented credentials: September 16, 1853

Terminated mission: Promoted to Minister Resident

Henry R. Jackson

Title: Minister Resident

Appointed: June 29, 1854

Presented credentials: September 28, 1854

Terminated mission: Left post on or after June 1, 1858

J. Glancy Jones

Title: Minister Resident

Appointed: November 1, 1858

Presented credentials: —

Terminated mission: —

J. Glancy Jones

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: December 15, 1858

Presented credentials: February 14, 1859

Terminated mission: Presented recall, November 14, 1861

Anson Burlingame

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: March 22, 1861

Presented credentials: —

Terminated mission: —

J. Lothrop Motley

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: August 10, 1861

Presented credentials: November 14, 1861

Terminated mission: June 14, 1867

Note: President Andrew Johnson nominated the following eight men to be ambassador to Austria, but the Senate rejected or declined to consider them, most likely because of the President’s disputes with the Congress over other issues.

Edgar Cowan

Frank P. Blair, Jr.

James W. Nesmith

John P. Stockton

Henry J. Raymond

Horace Greeley

Samuel S. Cox

Henry A. Smythe

Henry M. Watts

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: July 25, 1868

Presented credentials: September 25, 1868

Terminated mission: Presented recall, June 1, 1869

John Jay II

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: 1869

Presented credentials: June 1, 1869

Terminated mission: Presented recall, March 31, 1875

Note: Ambassadors after 1869 were commissioned to Austria-Hungary.

Godlove S. Orth

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: March 9, 1875

Presented credentials: May 24, 1875

Terminated mission: Relinquished charge, March 10, 1876

Edward F. Beale

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: June 1, 1876

Presented credentials: August 10, 1876

Terminated mission: Left post, April 20, 1877

John A. Kasson

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: 11, 1877

Presented credentials: August 30, 1877

Terminated mission: Presented recall, March 25, 1881

William Walter Phelps

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: May 5, 1881

Presented credentials: June 20, 1881

Terminated mission: Superseded June 30, 1882

Alphonso Taft

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: April 26, 1882

Presented credentials: June 30, 1882

Terminated mission: Left post, August 25, 1884

John M. Francis

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: July 4, 1884

Presented credentials: September 11, 1884

Terminated mission: Presented recall, August 3, 1885

Anthony M. Keiley

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: April 29, 1885

Presented credentials: —

Terminated mission: —

Alexander R. Lawton

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: April 15, 1887

Presented credentials: August 25, 1887

Terminated mission: May 15, 1889

Frederick D. Grant

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: March 23, 1889

Presented credentials: May 15, 1889

Terminated mission: Presented recall, June 8, 1893

Bartlett Tripp

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: April 6, 1893

Presented credentials: June 8, 1893

Terminated mission: Presented recall, June 18, 1897

Charlemagne Tower

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: April 1, 1897

Presented credentials: June 18, 1897

Terminated mission: Had farewell audience, February 9, 1899

Addison C. Harris

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: January 12, 1899

Presented credentials: April 13, 1899

Terminated mission: Presented recall, April 29, 1901

Robert S. McCormick

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: March 7, 1901

Presented credentials: April 29, 1901

Terminated mission: Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Note: From 1902 to 1917 ambassadors to Austria bore the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Robert S. McCormick

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: May 27, 1902

Presented credentials: June 26, 1902

Terminated mission: Presented recall, December 29, 1902

Bellamy Storer

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: September 26, 1902

Presented credentials: January 3, 1903

Terminated mission: Left post, February 8, 1906

Charles S. Francis

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: March 22, 1906

Presented credentials: May 29, 1906

Terminated mission: Presented recall, April 1, 1910

Richard C. Kerens

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: December 21, 1909

Presented credentials: April 12, 1910

Terminated mission: Left post, June 28, 1913

Frederic Courtland Penfield – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: July 28, 1913

Presented credentials: September 26, 1913

Terminated mission: Left post, April 7, 1917

Note: The United States declared war on Germany April 6, 1917. Ambassador Penfield departed Austria the following day, April 7. Austria-Hungary severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 9. Joseph C. Grew was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when Austria-Hungary severed relations. Although a date is not recorded, the embassy would have been closed almost immediately and all diplomatic personnel would have departed or been expelled. Normal diplomatic relations were resumed in 1921.

Arthur Hugh Frazier – Career FSO

Title: Chargé d'Affaires pro tem

Appointed: Not commissioned

Presented credentials: November 25, 1921

Terminated mission: Left post, May 21, 1922

Note: After resumption of diplomatic relations, the embassy was downgraded to a legation and the title of the chief of mission was downgraded to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and remained as such until 1952.

Albert Henry Washburn – Political appointee

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: February 10, 1922

Presented credentials: June 19, 1922

Terminated mission: Died at post, April 29, 1930

Gilchrist Baker Stockton – Political appointee

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: January 22, 1930

Presented credentials: May 15, 1930

Terminated mission: Left post, September 21, 1933

George H. Earle, 3rd – Political appointee

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: July 24, 1933

Presented credentials: September 27, 1933

Terminated mission: Left post, March 25, 1934

George S. Messersmith – Career FSO

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: April 7, 1934

Presented credentials: May 23, 1934

Terminated mission: Left post, July 11, 1937

Grenville T. Emmet – Political appointee

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: July 13, 1937

Presented credentials: September 14, 1937

Terminated mission: Died at post, September 26, 1937

Note: John C. Wiley was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when Austria was annexed to Germany, March 13, 1938; he closed the legation in Vienna, April 30, 1938.

Note: Diplomatic relations with Austria were broken during World War II but resumed in 1946.

John G. Erhardt – Career FSO

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: August 3, 1946

Presented credentials: September 7, 1946

Terminated mission: Left post, June 27, 1950

Walter J. Donnelly – Career FSO

Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary

Appointed: September 20, 1950

Presented credentials: October 25, 1950

Terminated mission: Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Note: In 1951 the legation in Vienna was upgraded to an embassy and the chief of mission gained the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Walter J. Donnelly – Career FSO

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: November 16, 1951

Presented credentials: November 28, 1951

Terminated mission: Left post, July 19, 1952

Llewellyn E. Thompson, Jr. – Career FSO

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: July 17, 1952

Presented credentials: September 4, 1952

Terminated mission: July 9, 1957

H. Freeman Matthews – Career FSO

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: August 5, 1957

Presented credentials: September 4, 1957

Terminated mission: Left post, May 25, 1962

James W. Riddleberger – Career FSO

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: October 23, 1962

Presented credentials: December 12, 1962

Terminated mission: Left post, May 10, 1967

Douglas MacArthur II – Career FSO

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: April 5, 1967

Presented credentials: May 24, 1967

Terminated mission: Left post, September 16, 1969

John P. Humes – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: September 26, 1969

Presented credentials: October 29, 1969

Terminated mission: Left post, March 6, 1975

Wiley T. Buchanan, Jr. – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: March 25, 1975

Presented credentials: April 2, 1975

Terminated mission: Left post, March 31, 1977

Milton A. Wolf – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: June 23, 1977

Presented credentials: September 5, 1977

Terminated mission: Left post, March 2, 1980

Philip M. Kaiser – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: February 19, 1980

Presented credentials: March 25, 1980

Terminated mission: Left post, March 2, 1981

Theodore E. Cummings – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: June 20, 1981

Presented credentials: September 2, 1981

Terminated mission: Died in Los Angeles, March 30, 1982

Helene A. von Damm – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: May 10, 1983

Presented credentials: June 22, 1983

Terminated mission: Left post, January 15, 1986

Ronald S. Lauder – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: April 16, 1986

Presented credentials: May 7, 1986

Terminated mission: Left post, October 27, 1987

Henry Anatole Grunwald – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: December 23, 1987

Presented credentials: January 20, 1988

Terminated mission: Left post, January 1, 1990

Roy M. Huffington – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: August 6, 1990

Presented credentials: September 11, 1990

Terminated mission: Left post, March 1, 1993

Swanee Grace Hunt – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: November 4, 1993

Presented credentials: December 16, 1993

Terminated mission: Left post, October 18, 1997

Kathryn Walt Hall – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: November 19, 1997

Presented credentials: December 11, 1997

Terminated mission: Left post July 10, 2001

Lyons Brown, Jr. – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: November 5, 2001

Presented credentials: December 19, 2001

Terminated mission: Left post, October 5, 2005

Susan Rasinski McCaw – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: November 2, 2005

Presented credentials: January 9, 2006

Terminated mission: November 25, 2007

Charles A. Gargano – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: —

Presented credentials: —

Terminated mission: —

David F. Girard-diCarlo – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: July 1, 2008

Presented credentials: September 10, 2008

Terminated mission: January 20, 2009

William Eacho – Political appointee

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: August 12, 2009

Presented credentials: September 14, 2009

Terminated mission: August 3, 2013

Alexa L. Wesner

Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Appointed: September 6, 2013

Presented credentials: September 12, 2013

Terminated mission: Incumbent

References

United States Ambassador to Austria Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

Angelo Bonomelli

Donovan Powell