The following is a list of United States Ambassadors to Nigeria.
Joseph Palmer II - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: September 23, 1960
Presentation of Credentials: October 4, 1960
Termination of Mission: Reaccredited when Nigeria became a republic; presented new credentials December 12, 1963; Left post January 16, 1964
Note: The Embassy in Lagos was established October 1, 1960, with Ambassador Palmer in charge pending presentation of his letter of credence.
Elbert G. Mathews - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: March 10, 1964
Presentation of Credentials: April 11, 1964
Termination of Mission: Left post July 26, 1969
William C. Trueheart - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: September 19, 1969
Presentation of Credentials: November 6, 1969
Termination of Mission: Left post September 1, 1971
John Reinhardt - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: September 30, 1971
Presentation of Credentials: December 3, 1971
Termination of Mission: Left post February 23, 1975
Donald B. Easum - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: March 26, 1975
Presentation of Credentials: May 22, 1975
Termination of Mission: Left post October 15, 1979
Stephen Low - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: September 20, 1979
Presentation of Credentials: November 29, 1979
Termination of Mission: Left post July 4, 1981
Thomas R. Pickering - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: October 26, 1981
Presentation of Credentials: November 30, 1981
Termination of Mission: Left post July 9, 1983
Thomas W. M. Smith - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: February 10, 1984
Presentation of Credentials: March 15, 1984
Termination of Mission: Left post May 5, 1986
Princeton Nathan Lyman - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: September 12, 1986
Presentation of Credentials: October 10, 1986
Termination of Mission: Left post July 24, 1989
Lannon Walker - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: October 10, 1989
Presentation of Credentials: November 17, 1989
Termination of Mission: Left post July 10, 1992
William Lacy Swing - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: June 15, 1992
Presentation of Credentials: September 24, 1992
Termination of Mission: Left post September 22, 1993
Walter C. Carrington - Political appointee
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: August 10, 1993
Presentation of Credentials: November 9, 1993
Termination of Mission: Left post October 7, 1997
William H. Twaddell - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: November 10, 1997
Presentation of Credentials: December 19, 1997
Termination of Mission: Left post August 3, 2000
Note: The U.S. Embassy was transferred from Lagos to Abuja September 15, 2000.
Howard Franklin Jeter - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: December 28, 2000
Presentation of Credentials: March 3, 2001
Termination of Mission: Left post July 30, 2003
Donald K. Steinberg - Career FSO
John Campbell - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: May 12, 2004
Presentation of Credentials: June 25, 2004
Termination of Mission: Left post, July 19, 2007
Robin Renee Sanders - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: October 29, 2007
Presentation of Credentials: December 3, 2007
Termination of Mission: Unknown
Terence P. McCulley - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: September 28, 2010
Presentation of Credentials: November 2, 2010
Termination of Mission: Unknown
James F. Entwistle - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: May 23, 2013
Sworn in: October 28, 2013
Presentation of Credentials: November 26, 2013
Termination of Mission: October 2016
W. Stuart Symington - Career FSO
Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Appointment: September 28, 2016
Sworn in: October 31, 2016
Presentation of Credentials: TBD
Termination of Mission: Incumbent
