Formation April 19, 1782 | Website thehague.usembassy.gov | |
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Nominator The President of the United States Inaugural holder John Adams
as Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
The United States diplomatic mission to the Netherlands consists of the embassy located in The Hague and a consular office located in Amsterdam.
In 1782, John Adams was appointed America's first Minister Plenipotentiary to Holland. According to the United States Department of State, the same year came formal recognition by the Netherlands of the United States as a separate and independent nation, along with badly needed financial help that indicated faith in its future. These loans from the United Provinces, which have been called "the Marshall Plan in reverse," were the first the new government received.
The American Embassy building in The Hague opened on July 4, 1959. It was designed by architect Marcel Breuer. Notable Americans such as former Presidents Adams and John Quincy Adams, General Hugh Ewing and Iraq Envoy L. Paul Bremer have held the title of Ambassador.
Besides the embassy, a U.S. consulate-general is located on Curaçao which is responsible for the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. This consulate is not part of the U.S. diplomatic mission to the Netherlands.
2013 ambassador nomination
On July 18, 2013, President Obama nominated Timothy M. Broas to become the next U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, succeeding Fay Hartog-Levin, who had resigned in September 2011. Broas, an attorney and philanthropist, was a major donor to President Obama's campaigns. He was first nominated in April 2012, but withdrew his name in June after being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. He subsequently plead guilty to the reduced charge of driving while impaired and was placed on probation. Broas was finally appointed in March 2014.