The United States Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba is the official representative of the President of the United States to the head of state of Cuba, and serves as the head of the Embassy of the United States in Havana. Direct bilateral diplomatic relations did not exist between the two countries from 1961 to 2015. President Dwight D. Eisenhower severed relations following the Cuban Revolution on January 3, 1961. Relations were subsequently restored by Cuban President Raul Castro and President Barack Obama on July 20, 2015.
With the restoration of relations in 2015, the president may nominate an ambassador, though the position has remained vacant since 1960. The embassy is currently run by a Chargé d'affaires ad interim, Jeffrey DeLaurentis. The Chargé d'affaires and the embassy staff at large work in the American Embassy on the Malecón across from the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, Cuba. Obama officially nominated DeLaurentis on September 27, 2016.
Cuba was the last major Spanish colony to gain independence, following a lengthy struggle that began in 1868. José Martí, Cuba's national hero, helped initiate the final push for independence in 1895. In 1898, the United States fought a brief war known as the Spanish–American War, after the USS Maine sank in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898 due to an explosion of undetermined origin. In December 1898, Spain relinquished control of Cuba to the United States with the Treaty of Paris. On May 20, 1902, the United States granted Cuba its independence but retained the right to intervene to preserve Cuban independence and stability in accordance with the Platt Amendment.
In 1902 the US established an embassy in Havana and appointed its first ambassador, Herbert G. Squiers. In 1934, the Platt Amendment was repealed. The United States and Cuba concluded a Treaty of Relations in 1934 which, among other things, continued the 1903 agreements that leased the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to the United States. In 1959 Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista and Batista fled the country on January 1, 1959. Relations between the United States and Cuba deteriorated rapidly as the Cuban government expropriated US properties and developed close ties with the Soviet Union. In October 1960, the US recalled its ambassador to protest Castro's policies. On January 3, 1961 the US withdrew diplomatic recognition of the Cuban government and closed the embassy in Havana. On September 1, 1977 the US established the United States Interests Section in Havana, located in its former embassy and operated under the auspices of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana. The Interests Section was headed by Chief of Mission rather than an ambassador. Bilateral relations between the two governments resumed on July 20, 2015.
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (1902–1923)
Herbert G. Squiers
Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Appointed: May 20, 1902
Presented credentials: May 27, 1902
Terminated mission: Left post, December 2, 1905
Edwin V. MorganTitle: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Appointed: November 29, 1905
Presented credentials: March 1, 1906
Terminated mission: Left post, January 5, 1910
John Brinkerhoff Jackson
Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Appointed: December 21, 1909
Presented credentials: March 22, 1910
Terminated mission: Presented recall, October 27, 1911
Arthur M. Beaupre
Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Appointed: August 12, 1911
Presented credentials: December 18, 1911
Terminated mission: Left post, June 28, 1913
William E. Gonzales – Political appointee
Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Appointed: June 21, 1913
Presented credentials: August 9, 1913
Terminated mission: Left post, December 18, 1919
Boaz W. Long – Political appointee
Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Appointed: June 30, 1919
Presented credentials: January 8, 1920
Terminated mission: Left post, June 17, 1921
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (1923–1933; 1934–1961; 2015–present)
Enoch H. Crowder – Political appointee
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: February 10, 1923
Presented credentials: March 5, 1923
Terminated mission: Left post, May 28, 1927
Noble Brandon Judah – Political appointeeTitle: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: November 22, 1927
Presented credentials: December 17, 1927
Terminated mission: December 23, 1927; Left post, June 1, 1929
Harry F. Guggenheim – Political appointee
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: October 10, 1929
Presented credentials: November 21, 1929
Terminated mission: Left post, April 2, 1933
Sumner Welles – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: April 24, 1933
Presented credentials: May 11, 1933
Terminated mission: Left post December 13, 1933
Note: Normal relations were interrupted on September 5, 1933; the new Government of Cuba was still unrecognized by the United States when Welles left post on December 13, 1933.
Jefferson Caffery – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: February 23, 1934
Presented credentials: February 28, 1934
Terminated mission: Left post, March 9, 1937
J. Butler Wright – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: July 13, 1937
Presented credentials: August 23, 1937
Terminated mission: Died at post, December 4, 1939
George S. Messersmith – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: January 12, 1940
Presented credentials: March 8, 1940
Terminated mission: Presented recall, February 8, 1942
Spruille Braden – Political appointee
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: December 20, 1941
Presented credentials: May 19, 1942
Terminated mission: Left post, April 27, 1945
Raymond Henry Norweb – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: May 21, 1945
Presented credentials: July 24, 1945
Terminated mission: Left post, May 22, 1948
Robert Butler – Political appointee
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: May 22, 1948
Presented credentials: June 8, 1948
Terminated mission: Left post, February 10, 1951
Willard L. Beaulac – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: June 20, 1951
Presented credentials: September 20, 1951
Terminated mission: Left post, August 9, 1953
Arthur Gardner – Political appointee
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: May 28, 1953
Presented credentials: October 16, 1953
Terminated mission: Left post, June 16, 1957
Earl E. T. Smith – Political appointee
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: June 3, 1957
Presented credentials: July 23, 1957
Terminated mission: Left post, January 19, 1959
Philip W. Bonsal – Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointed: February 16, 1959
Presented credentials: March 3, 1959
Terminated mission: Left post, October 28, 1960
Daniel M. Braddock was serving as Chargé d'affaires ad interim when the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961.
Note: Normal relations were severed in January 1961 and were not normalized until July 2015.
Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Chief of the US Interests Section upon the normalization of relations, has been serving as Chargé d'affaires ad interim since the United States normalized diplomatic relations with Cuba in July 2015.
The Interests Section operated from September 1, 1977 to July 20, 2015.
1977–1979: Lyle Franklin Lane
1979–1982: Wayne S. Smith
1982–1985: John Ferch
1985–1987: Curtis W. Kamman
1987–1990: John J. Taylor
1990–1993: Alan H. Flanigan
1993–1996: Joseph Sullivan
1996–1999: Michael Kozak
1999–2002: Vicki Huddleston
2002–2005: James Cason
2005–2008: Michael E. Parmly
2008–2010: Jonathan D. Farrar
2010–2011: Vacant
September 2011–2014: John Caulfield
August 2014–July 20, 2015: Jeffrey DeLaurentis