United States Ambassador to Belgium
Encyclopedia
In 1832, shortly after the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium, the United States established diplomatic relations. Since that time, a long line of distinguished envoys have represented American interests in Belgium. These diplomats included men and women whose career paths would lead them to become Secretary of State
(Hugh S. Legaré
), Secretary of Commerce (Charles Sawyer
) and Chair of the Federal Trade Commission
(Joseph E. Davies
).
Belgian-American Relations were cemented when Brand Whitlock
, as representative of the neutral United States, worked tirelessly during World War I to bring humanitarian aid to help the millions of Belgians in danger of starvation caused by the British blockade and the German occupation (See Remembering Herbert Hoover http://www.rememberinghoover.be).
Future envoys found themselves in less tumultuous times working alongside Belgians to create peace, stability and security in Europe through the Marshall Plan
, the foundation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and joint efforts with the European Union
. In 1944, when Franklin D. Roosevelt
appointed Charles W. Sawyer
to Ambassador to Belgium he remarked "What could be more interesting, than the carrefour [crossroads] of Europe in the closing days of the war?" and during the late nineteen sixties another well respected envoy John Eisenhower
, the son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
, served as Ambassador to Belgium.
This is a complete list of United States ambassadors to Belgium:
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
(Hugh S. Legaré
Hugh S. Legaré
Hugh Swinton Legaré was an American lawyer and politician.-Biography:Legaré was born in Charleston, South Carolina, of Huguenot and Scottish ancestry....
), Secretary of Commerce (Charles Sawyer
Charles Sawyer
Charles Sawyer may refer to:*Charles B. Sawyer, inventor of the commercial quartz crystal manufacturing process.*Charles E. Sawyer, personal physician to President Warren G. Harding*Charles H. Sawyer, Governor of New Hampshire...
) and Chair of the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
(Joseph E. Davies
Joseph E. Davies
Joseph Edward Davies was appointed by President Wilson to be Commissioner of Corporations in 1912, and First Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission in 1915. He was the second Ambassador to represent the United States in the Soviet Union and U.S. Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg...
).
Belgian-American Relations were cemented when Brand Whitlock
Brand Whitlock
Brand Whitlock , an American municipal reformer, diplomat, journalist, and author. Born Joseph Brand Whitlock at Urbana, Ohio, son of the Rev. Elias and Mollie Lavinia Whitlock, he was educated in the public schools and by private tutors. He also studied law under Senator J. M...
, as representative of the neutral United States, worked tirelessly during World War I to bring humanitarian aid to help the millions of Belgians in danger of starvation caused by the British blockade and the German occupation (See Remembering Herbert Hoover http://www.rememberinghoover.be).
Future envoys found themselves in less tumultuous times working alongside Belgians to create peace, stability and security in Europe through the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
, the foundation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and joint efforts with the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. In 1944, when Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
appointed Charles W. Sawyer
Charles W. Sawyer
Charles W. Sawyer was United States Secretary of Commerce from May 6, 1948 to January 20, 1953 in the administration of Harry Truman....
to Ambassador to Belgium he remarked "What could be more interesting, than the carrefour [crossroads] of Europe in the closing days of the war?" and during the late nineteen sixties another well respected envoy John Eisenhower
John Eisenhower
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower is the son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife Mamie. He is a retired United States Army officer and the author of several books of military history. He served as the U.S...
, the son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, served as Ambassador to Belgium.
This is a complete list of United States ambassadors to Belgium:
United States Chargés d'Affaires to Belgium
- Hugh S. LegaréHugh S. LegaréHugh Swinton Legaré was an American lawyer and politician.-Biography:Legaré was born in Charleston, South Carolina, of Huguenot and Scottish ancestry....
1832–1836 - Virgil MaxcyVirgil MaxcyVirgil Maxcy was an American political figure. He was born in Massachusetts, and spent his adult years in Maryland. He was killed in 1844 in a shipboard accident, when a cannon exploded aboard the USS Princeton.-Early life:...
1837–1842 - Henry Washington HilliardHenry Washington HilliardHenry Washington Hilliard was a U.S. Representative from Alabama.-Early life:Hilliard was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina and was graduated from South Carolina College at Columbia in 1826.He studied law and moved to Athens, Georgia, where he was admitted to the bar in 1829.He was a Professor...
1842–1844 - Thomas Green ClemsonThomas Green ClemsonThomas Green Clemson, was an American politician and statesman, serving as an ambassador and the United States Superintendent of Agriculture. He served in the Confederate States Army...
1844–1851 - Richard H. Bayward 1851–1853
- J.J. Seibels 1852–1854
United States Ministers Resident to Belgium
- J.J. Seibels 1854–1856
- Elisha Y. Fair 1858–1861
- Henry Shelton SanfordHenry Shelton SanfordHenry Shelton Sanford was an American diplomat and businessman who founded the city of Sanford, Florida.-Early life:Sanford was born in Woodbury, Connecticut into a family with deep New England roots...
1861–1869 - Joseph Russell JonesJoseph Russell JonesJoseph Russell Jones was a successful US merchant and politician, a close friend of Ulysses S. Grant and an acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln.-Biography:...
1869–1875 - Ayres Phillips Merrill 1876–1877
- William C. Goodloe 1878–1880
- James O. Putnam 1880–1882
- Nicolas Fish 1882–1885
- Lambert TreeLambert TreeLambert Tree , was a circuit court judge, ambassador, and patron of the arts. Judge Lambert Tree was a Chicago Circuit Court judge who achieved fame by presiding over the indictment, trial, and conviction of corrupt City Council members. He lost the 1882 U.S. Senate race by one vote, but in 1885...
1885–1888
United States Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary to Belgium
- Lambert TreeLambert TreeLambert Tree , was a circuit court judge, ambassador, and patron of the arts. Judge Lambert Tree was a Chicago Circuit Court judge who achieved fame by presiding over the indictment, trial, and conviction of corrupt City Council members. He lost the 1882 U.S. Senate race by one vote, but in 1885...
1888 - John G. Parkhurst 1888–1889
- Edwin H. Terrell 1889–1893
- James S. Ewing 1893–1897
- Bellamy StorerBellamy Storer (1847)Bellamy Storer was a U.S. Representative from Ohio, son of Bellamy Storer and uncle of Nicholas Longworth...
1897–1899 - Lawrence TownsendLawrence TownsendLawrence Townsend was an American diplomat and later in life, after his retirement from government service, a business executive in Washington, DC....
1899–1905 - Henry Lane WilsonHenry Lane WilsonHenry Lane Wilson was an American diplomat.-Biography:He was born in Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana to Indiana congressman James Wilson and his wife, Emma Wilson; he was the younger brother of John L. Wilson, and had been named for Henry Smith Lane...
1905–1909 - Charles Page BryanCharles Page BryanCharles Page Bryan was an American lawyer and diplomat.Bryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 2, 1856. He received his preparatory education in that city, subsequently becoming a student at the University of Virginia and later taking his degree in law at Columbian University , Washington,...
1909–1911 - Larz AndersonLarz AndersonLarz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....
1911–1912 - Theodore Marburg 1912–1914
- Brand WhitlockBrand WhitlockBrand Whitlock , an American municipal reformer, diplomat, journalist, and author. Born Joseph Brand Whitlock at Urbana, Ohio, son of the Rev. Elias and Mollie Lavinia Whitlock, he was educated in the public schools and by private tutors. He also studied law under Senator J. M...
1914–1919
United States Ambassadors to Belgium
- Brand WhitlockBrand WhitlockBrand Whitlock , an American municipal reformer, diplomat, journalist, and author. Born Joseph Brand Whitlock at Urbana, Ohio, son of the Rev. Elias and Mollie Lavinia Whitlock, he was educated in the public schools and by private tutors. He also studied law under Senator J. M...
1919–1921 - Henry P. FletcherHenry P. FletcherHenry Prather Fletcher was an American diplomat.Fletcher was born in Greencastle, Pennsylvania in 1873. He was the fourth cousin once removed of William McKinley.He served in the U.S...
1922–1924 - William PhillipsWilliam Phillips (diplomat)William Phillips was a career United States diplomat who served twice as an Under Secretary of State....
1924–1927 - Hugh S. Gibson 1927–1933
- Dave Hennen Morris 1933–1937
- Hugh S. Gibson 1937–1938
- Joseph E. DaviesJoseph E. DaviesJoseph Edward Davies was appointed by President Wilson to be Commissioner of Corporations in 1912, and First Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission in 1915. He was the second Ambassador to represent the United States in the Soviet Union and U.S. Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg...
1938–1939 - John CudahyJohn CudahyJohn Clarence Cudahy was a real estate broker and American ambassador to Poland, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg. He was a Democrat.-Early life:...
1940 - Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr.Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr.Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr. , also known as A. J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. or Tony Biddle, was a wealthy socialite who became a diplomat of the United States, and served in the United States Army during World War I and after World War II, reaching the rank of major general.-Biography:Biddle was the...
1941–1943 - Charles W. SawyerCharles W. SawyerCharles W. Sawyer was United States Secretary of Commerce from May 6, 1948 to January 20, 1953 in the administration of Harry Truman....
1944–1945 - Alan Goodrich KirkAlan Goodrich KirkAlan Goodrich Kirk was an admiral in the United States Navy and an American diplomat.-Biography:...
1946–1949 - Robert Daniel MurphyRobert Daniel MurphyRobert Daniel Murphy was an American diplomat.Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Murphy had begun his diplomatic career in 1917 as a member of the American Legation in Bern, Switzerland. Among the several posts he held were Vice-Consul in Zurich and Munich, American Consul in Paris from 1930 to 1936,...
1949–1952 - Myron Melvin Cowen 1952–1953
- Frederick M. Alger, Jr. 1953–1957
- John Clifford Folger 1957–1959
- William A. M. Burden 1959–1961
- Douglas MacArthur IIDouglas MacArthur IIDouglas MacArthur II was an American diplomat.MacArthur was the son of Captain Arthur MacArthur III and Mary McCalla MacArthur, and was named for his uncle, General Douglas MacArthur. He was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He married Laura Louise Barkley on August 21, 1934, the daughter of future...
1961–1965 - Ridgway B. KnightRidgway B. KnightRidgway Brewster Knight was an American diplomat who served as Ambassador to Syria , Belgium and Portugal ....
1965–1969 - John S. D. Eisenhower 1969–1971
- Robert Strausz-HupéRobert Strausz-HupéRobert Strausz-Hupé was a U.S. diplomat and geopolitician.In 1923 he immigrated to the United States. Serving as an advisor on foreign investment to American financial institutions, he watched the Depression spread political misery across America and Europe...
1972–1974 - Leonard FirestoneLeonard FirestoneLeonard Kimball Firestone , was a business man, ambassador and philanthropist.-Biography:...
1974–1977 - Anne Cox ChambersAnne Cox ChambersAnne Beau Cox Chambers is a media proprietor, who is primary owner of Cox Enterprises, a privately held media empire that includes newspapers, television, radio, cable television, and other businesses....
1977–1981 - Charles H. Price IICharles H. Price IICharles H. Price II is a prominent American businessman and former Ambassador of the United States.-Early life:Price was born to a prominent family in Kansas City, Missouri, who owned a local candy manufacturing firm, the Price Candy Company...
1981–1983 - Geoffrey Swaebe 1983–1988
- Maynard W. GlitmanMaynard W. GlitmanMaynard Wayne Glitman was an American diplomat.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Glitman negotiated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. Later, Glitman served as the United States Ambassador to Belgium 1988-1991.Glitman died at the age of 77 on December 13 after a struggle with...
1988–1991 - Bruce GelbBruce GelbBruce Gelb is an American businessman and diplomat. He is the retired president of Clairol and former vice chairman of Bristol Myers Squibb.-Early Life and Education:...
1991–1993 - Alan BlinkenAlan BlinkenAlan John Blinken was the 2002 Democratic nominee for United States Senate in Idaho. He was defeated by the Republican incumbent, Larry Craig. Previously, as a resident of New York City in 1990, Blinken ran for the New York State Assembly in Manhattan, but lost to Republican John Ravitz.Blinken...
1993–1997 - Paul L. CejasPaul L. CejasPaul L. Cejas , a native of Cuba who arrived in Miami, Florida in 1960, is chairman and chief executive officer of PLC Investments, Inc., a wholly owned company that manages portfolio investments, as well as investments in real estate, health care and venture capital projects. He also served as...
1997–2001 - Stephen Brauer 2001–2003
- Tom C. Korologos 2004–2007
- Sam FoxSam FoxSam Fox is an American businessman in St. Louis. He was the United States Ambassador to Belgium from April 11, 2007 until January 2, 2009. President George W...
2007–2009 - Wayne Bush 2009
- Howard W. GutmanHoward W. GutmanHoward W. Gutman is the United States Ambassador to Belgium. After being nominated as Ambassador by United States President Barack Obama, Gutman was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 29, 2009 and sworn in as Ambassador on August 14, 2009....
2009–Present
See also
- Belgium – United States relations
- Foreign relations of BelgiumForeign relations of Belgium-Initial neutrality:Because of its location at the crossroads of Western Europe, Belgium has historically been the route of invading armies from its larger neighbours. With virtually defenceless borders, Belgium has traditionally sought to avoid domination by the more powerful nations which...
- Ambassadors of the United States