United States Ambassador to Syria
Encyclopedia
The United States Ambassador to Syria is the official representative of the President of the United States to the head of state
of Syria
.
From the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
in 1922 until 1944, Syria had been under the control of France as a part of the League of Nations
French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon
. The United States appointed George Wadsworth
as Agent and Consul General to Syria and Lebanon on October 9, 1942, to provide a quasi-diplomatic presence in Damascus until the United States determined that Syria achieved effective independence in 1944. The United States recognized
Syria as an independent state on September 8, 1944, when the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jamil Mardam Bey
, informed the United States that Syria fully recognized and would protect existing rights of the United States and its nationals. This Syrian assurance was in response to a letter sent on September 7, 1944, by the U.S. Diplomatic Agent and Consul General in Syria that offered “full and unconditional recognition” upon receipt of such written assurances. The United States established diplomatic relations with Syria when George Wadsworth presented his credentials as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on November 17, 1944. Wadsworth was concurrently the envoy to Syria and Lebanon while resident in Beirut
.
Egypt and Syria united to form a new state, the United Arab Republic
(UAR) on February 22, 1958 with its capital in Cairo
. The U. S. recognized the UAR and the embassy in Damascus was reclassified as a Consulate General. Syria seceded from the Union in 1961 and U. S.–Syria diplomatic relations were reestablished on October 10, 1961. The Consulate General was once again elevated to embassy status.
Syria severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. on June 6, 1967 in the wake of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War
. In the interim a U.S. Interests Section in Syria was established on February 8, 1974, in the Italian Embassy with Thomas J. Scotes as Principal Officer. Normal relations were resumed in 1974.
The U. S. recalled its ambassador to Syria in 2005 after the assassination of Rafic Hariri. A series of chargés d’affaires represented the U.S. until the appointment of Robert Stephen Ford in January 2011.
Note: On September 30, 1952, the U.S. legation in Damascus was upgraded to embassy status. This required a promotion and new commission for the envoy.
Note: Syria joined Egypt to form the United Arab Republic
on February 22, 1958. The U.S. embassy in Damascus was downgraded to consulate status. After Syria seceded from the UAR, the consulate was reestablished as an embassy on October 10, 1961.
Note: Syria severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. on June 6, 1967. Ambassador Smythe departed Syria two days later.
Note: The U.S. established a U.S. Interests Section on February 8, 1974 in the Italian Embassy with Thomas J. Scotes as Principal Officer. The Embassy in Damascus was reestablished on June 16, 1974, with Scotes as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
Note: Ambassador Scobey was recalled “for urgent consultations” on February 15, 2005, after the assassination of Rafic Hariri. Several chargés represented the U.S. until January 2011.
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
From the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
The Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire was a political event that occurred after World War I. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples formerly ruled by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new nations.The partitioning was planned from the early days of the war,...
in 1922 until 1944, Syria had been under the control of France as a part of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon
French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon
Officially the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was a League of Nations mandate founded after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire...
. The United States appointed George Wadsworth
George Wadsworth (diplomat)
George Wadsworth II was a United States diplomat, specializing in the Middle East.Wadsworth was born in Buffalo, New York and received a degree in chemical engineering from Union College in Schenectady, New York...
as Agent and Consul General to Syria and Lebanon on October 9, 1942, to provide a quasi-diplomatic presence in Damascus until the United States determined that Syria achieved effective independence in 1944. The United States recognized
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
Syria as an independent state on September 8, 1944, when the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jamil Mardam Bey
Jamil Mardam Bey
Jamil Mardam Bey ,, was a Syrian politician, Born in Damascus to a prominent aristocratic Sunni Muslim family. He is descended from Ottoman's general, statesman, and Grand Vizier Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha...
, informed the United States that Syria fully recognized and would protect existing rights of the United States and its nationals. This Syrian assurance was in response to a letter sent on September 7, 1944, by the U.S. Diplomatic Agent and Consul General in Syria that offered “full and unconditional recognition” upon receipt of such written assurances. The United States established diplomatic relations with Syria when George Wadsworth presented his credentials as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on November 17, 1944. Wadsworth was concurrently the envoy to Syria and Lebanon while resident in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
.
Egypt and Syria united to form a new state, the United Arab Republic
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic , often abbreviated as the U.A.R., was a sovereign union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal...
(UAR) on February 22, 1958 with its capital in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. The U. S. recognized the UAR and the embassy in Damascus was reclassified as a Consulate General. Syria seceded from the Union in 1961 and U. S.–Syria diplomatic relations were reestablished on October 10, 1961. The Consulate General was once again elevated to embassy status.
Syria severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. on June 6, 1967 in the wake of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
. In the interim a U.S. Interests Section in Syria was established on February 8, 1974, in the Italian Embassy with Thomas J. Scotes as Principal Officer. Normal relations were resumed in 1974.
The U. S. recalled its ambassador to Syria in 2005 after the assassination of Rafic Hariri. A series of chargés d’affaires represented the U.S. until the appointment of Robert Stephen Ford in January 2011.
Ambassadors and chiefs of mission
- George WadsworthGeorge Wadsworth (diplomat)George Wadsworth II was a United States diplomat, specializing in the Middle East.Wadsworth was born in Buffalo, New York and received a degree in chemical engineering from Union College in Schenectady, New York...
– Career FSO- Title: Diplomatic Agent/Consul General
- Appointed: October 9, 1942
- Presented credentials: —
- Terminated mission: Promoted to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary November 17, 1944
- George WadsworthGeorge Wadsworth (diplomat)George Wadsworth II was a United States diplomat, specializing in the Middle East.Wadsworth was born in Buffalo, New York and received a degree in chemical engineering from Union College in Schenectady, New York...
– Career FSO- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 21, 1944
- Presented credentials: November 17, 1944
- Terminated mission: Left Damascus February 8, 1947
- Paul Humiston Alling – Career FSO
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: April 10, 1947
- James Hugh Keeley, Jr.James Hugh Keeley, Jr.James Hugh Keeley, Jr. was an American diplomat. He graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1931. He served in the United States Foreign Service from 1920 until his retirement in the early 1960s, most notably as the United States' second envoy to the newly independent nation of...
– Career FSO- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 8, 1947
- Presented credentials: August 2, 1948
- Terminated mission: Left post July 22, 1950
- Cavendish W. CannonCavendish W. CannonCavendish Wells Cannon was a long-time United States foreign service officer and diplomat.During World War II Cavendish served as the Assistant Chief of the State Department's Division of Southern European Affairs. For a time Cannon's work took him to Syria.He served as U.S...
– Career FSO- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 20, 1950
- Presented credentials: October 30, 1950
- Terminated mission: Left post May 8, 1952
- James S. Moose, Jr.James S. Moose, Jr.James Sayle Moose, Jr. was an American diplomat and ambassador to several countries.-Early life:Moose was born in Morrilton, Arkansas in 1903...
– Career FSO- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 25, 1952
- Presented credentials: August 14, 1952
- Terminated mission: Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 30, 1952
Note: On September 30, 1952, the U.S. legation in Damascus was upgraded to embassy status. This required a promotion and new commission for the envoy.
- James S. Moose, Jr.James S. Moose, Jr.James Sayle Moose, Jr. was an American diplomat and ambassador to several countries.-Early life:Moose was born in Morrilton, Arkansas in 1903...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 11, 1952
- Presented credentials: September 30, 1952
- Terminated mission: Left post June 30, 1957
- Charles W. YostCharles Woodruff YostCharles Woodruff Yost was a career U.S. diplomat who was assigned as his country's representative to the United Nations from 1969 to 1971.- Biography :Charles Yost was born in Watertown, New York, on November 6, 1907...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: December 24, 1957
- Presented credentials: January 16, 1958
- Terminated mission: Embassy downgraded to consulate status, February 22, 1958
Note: Syria joined Egypt to form the United Arab Republic
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic , often abbreviated as the U.A.R., was a sovereign union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal...
on February 22, 1958. The U.S. embassy in Damascus was downgraded to consulate status. After Syria seceded from the UAR, the consulate was reestablished as an embassy on October 10, 1961.
- Ridgway B. KnightRidgway B. KnightRidgway Brewster Knight was an American diplomat who served as Ambassador to Syria , Belgium and Portugal ....
– Career FSO- Title: Chargé d’Affaires ad interim
- Appointed: October 10, 1961
- Presented credentials: —
- Terminated mission: Promoted to Ambassador January 11, 1962
- Ridgway B. KnightRidgway B. KnightRidgway Brewster Knight was an American diplomat who served as Ambassador to Syria , Belgium and Portugal ....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: December 7, 1961
- Presented credentials: January 11, 1962
- Terminated mission: Left post May 27, 1965
- Hugh H. Smythe – Political appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 22, 1965
- Presented credentials: October 28, 1965
- Terminated mission: Left post Jun 8, 1967
Note: Syria severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. on June 6, 1967. Ambassador Smythe departed Syria two days later.
Note: The U.S. established a U.S. Interests Section on February 8, 1974 in the Italian Embassy with Thomas J. Scotes as Principal Officer. The Embassy in Damascus was reestablished on June 16, 1974, with Scotes as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
- Thomas J. Scotes – Career FSO
- Title: Chargé d’Affaires ad interim
- Appointed: June 16, 1974
- Presented credentials: —
- Terminated mission: Superseded by Ambassador Murphy, September 9, 1974
- Richard W. MurphyRichard W. MurphyRichard William Murphy is an American diplomat.After graduating from The Roxbury Latin School in 1947, he received BAs from Harvard University in 1951 and from Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge in 1953. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the U.S...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 9, 1974
- Presented credentials: September 9, 1974
- Terminated mission: Left post April 23, 1978
- Talcott W. SeelyeTalcott Williams SeelyeTalcott W. Seelye was a United States Foreign Service Officer, United States Ambassador, author, and commentator.-Early life:...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 31, 1978
- Presented credentials: September 17, 1978
- Terminated mission: Left post August 31, 1981
- Robert P. Paganelli – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 28, 1981
- Presented credentials: November 12, 1981
- Terminated mission: Left post June 13, 1984
- William L. Eagleton, Jr.William L. EagletonWilliam Lester Eagleton, Jr. was a United States Foreign Service Officer and diplomat.-Early life:Born in Peoria, Illinois, Eagleton served in the United States Navy from 1944–46, and graduated from Yale University in 1948. He joined the U.S...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: October 4, 1984
- Presented credentials: December 6, 1984
- Terminated mission: Left post August 31, 1988
- Edward Peter Djerejian – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 12, 1988
- Presented credentials: October 2, 1988
- Terminated mission: Left post July 25, 1991
- Christopher W.S. RossChristopher W.S. RossChristopher W.S. Ross is a United States State Department official and former United States Ambassador to Algeria and Syria. On January 7, 2009 he was appointed to be the new UN envoy to Western Sahara. He was until recently a special adviser for the Middle East and North Africa at the U.S....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 2, 1991
- Presented credentials: September 25, 1991
- Terminated mission: Left post March 22, 1998
- Ryan CrockerRyan CrockerRyan Clark Crocker is a Career Ambassador within the United States Foreign Service and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He currently is the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan. He was the United States Ambassador to Iraq until 2009; he previously served as the U.S...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 29, 1998
- Presented credentials: June 6, 1999
- Terminated mission: Left post June 30, 2001
- Theodore H. KattoufTheodore H. Kattouf-Life:He graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 1968. He served in the United States Army becoming Captain.He joined the Foreign Service in 1972.In 1982-83, he was a Department of State fellow at Princeton University....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 7, 2001
- Presented credentials: January 12, 2002
- Terminated mission: Left post August 23, 2003
- Margaret ScobeyMargaret ScobeyMargaret Scobey is an American diplomat, and the United States Ambassador to Egypt. -Biography:She graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1967. She earned her B.A. and M.A. of History from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: December 12, 2003
- Presented credentials: January 10, 2004
- Terminated mission: Left post February 16, 2005
Note: Ambassador Scobey was recalled “for urgent consultations” on February 15, 2005, after the assassination of Rafic Hariri. Several chargés represented the U.S. until January 2011.
- Stephen A. SecheStephen A. SecheStephen A. Seche was the United States Ambassador to Yemen from 2007 to September 2010.-Biography:Stephen Seche was born in 1952. He received a B.A. in journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1974. After working as a journalist for four years, he joined the Foreign Service in...
- Chargé d’Affaires a.i, 2005–2006
- Michael H. Corbin
- Chargé d’Affaires a.i, 2006–2008
- Maura ConnellyMaura ConnellyAmbassador Maura Connelly is an American diplomat.President Obama nominated Ambassador Connelly, a 25-year veteran of the Foreign Service, as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Lebanon in June 2010. Ambassador Connelly was confirmed by the Senate in August 2010 and sworn in by Secretary of...
- Chargé d’Affaires a.i, 2008–2010
- Robert Stephen Ford – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: December 29, 2010
- Presented credentials: January 2010
- Terminated mission: Incumbent
See also
- Embassy of Syria, Washington, D.C.
- Syria – United States relations
- Foreign relations of SyriaForeign relations of SyriaEnsuring national security, increasing influence among its Arab neighbors, and achieving a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace settlement, which includes the return of the Golan Heights, are the primary goals of President Bashar al-Assad's foreign policy...
- Ambassadors of the United States