Nominator Barack Obama Website U.S. Embassy - Panama | Formation December 17, 1903 | |
 | ||
Inaugural holder William Insco Buchanan
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Panama since its independence from Colombia in 1903. (The US encouraged this revolution in order to secure the rights to build and manage the Panama Canal.) The rank of the US chief of mission to Panama was originally Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, but it was upgraded to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in 1939.
Normal diplomatic relations between the United States and Panama have been interrupted only once, from January 10 to April 3, 1964, in the aftermath of the Martyrs' Day riots over sovereignty.
List of Ambassadors
The following is a list of United States Ambassadors, or other Chiefs of Mission, to Panama. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.