is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the
. The position is more formally known as the "Permanent Representative of the
, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and Representative of the United States of America in the
"; it is also known as the U.S. Permanent Representative, or "Perm Rep", to the United Nations.
The U.S. Permanent Representative, currently Susan Rice, is charged with representing the United States on the U.N. Security Council and during almost all plenary meetings of the
, except in the rare situation in which a more senior officer of the United States (such as the
) is present. Like all
, he or she must be nominated by the U.S.
Many prominent U.S. politicians and diplomats have held the post, including
, Dr.
, Dr.
rank. It held this status through the Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations but was removed from cabinet rank by George H.W. Bush, who had previously held the position himself. It was restored under the Clinton administration. It was not a cabinet-level position under the George W. Bush administration (from 2001 to 2009). but was once again elevated under the Obama administration. Former U.N. Ambassador
has publicly opposed the granting of cabinet-level status to the office, stating "One, it overstates the role and importance the U.N. should have in U.S. foreign policy, second, you shouldn't have two secretaries in the same department."
| # |
US Ambassador to UN |
Years served |
U.N. Secretary-GeneralThe Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
|
U.S. President The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
|
| 1 |
Edward R. Stettinius, Jr. |
1945–1946 |
Sir Gladwyn Jebb Hubert Miles Gladwyn Jebb, 1st Baron Gladwyn, GCMG, GCVO, CB, known as Gladwyn Jebb , was a prominent British civil servant, diplomat and politician as well as the Acting Secretary-General of the United Nations....
|
Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
|
| 1946 |
Trygve LieTrygve Halvdan Lie was a Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian Foreign minister during the critical years of the Norwegian government in exile in London from 1940 to 1945. From 1946 to 1952 he was the first Secretary-General of the United...
|
| — |
Herschel V. Johnson Herschel Vespasian Johnson was a U.S. diplomat from North Carolina. He served as a U.S. foreign service officer from 1921-1953, whose career included posts in Europe, Latin America, and with the United Nations....
(actingIn law, when someone is said to be acting in a position it can mean one of three things.*The position has not yet been formally created.*The person is only occupying the position temporarily, to ensure continuity.*The person does not have a mandate....
) |
1946–1947 |
| 2 |
Warren R. Austin |
1947–1952 |
| 1953 |
Dag HammarskjöldDag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. An early Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld...
|
| 3 |
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
|
1953–1960 |
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight 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...
|
| 4 |
James J. Wadsworth |
1960–1961 |
| 5 |
Adlai Stevenson |
1961 |
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
|
| 1961-1963 |
U ThantU Thant was a Burmese diplomat and the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1961 to 1971. He was chosen for the post when his predecessor, Dag Hammarskjöld, died in September 1961....
|
| 1963-1965 |
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
|
| 6 |
Arthur J. Goldberg |
1965–1968 |
| 7 |
George W. Ball |
1968 |
| 8 |
James Russell Wiggins James Russell Wiggins was managing editor of The Washington Post and United States Ambassador to the United Nations.-In Minnesota:...
|
1968–1969 |
| 9 |
Charles W. Yost |
1969–1971 |
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
|
| 10 |
George H. W. BushGeorge Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
|
1971 |
| 1972-1973 |
Kurt WaldheimKurt Josef Waldheim was an Austrian diplomat and politician. Waldheim was the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981, and the ninth President of Austria, from 1986 to 1992...
|
| 11 |
John A. Scali John Alfred Scali was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1973 to 1975.Scali was an ABC News reporter who became an intermediary in the Cuban Missile Crisis and later a part of the Nixon Administration...
|
1973–1974 |
| 1974-1975 |
Gerald FordGerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
|
| 12 |
Daniel Patrick MoynihanDaniel Patrick "Pat" Moynihan was an American politician and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the United States Senate for New York in 1976, and was re-elected three times . He declined to run for re-election in 2000...
|
1975–1976 |
| 13 |
William ScrantonWilliam Warren Scranton is a former U.S. Republican Party politician. Scranton served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967. From 1976 to 1977, he served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.-Early life:...
|
1976–1977 |
| 14 |
Andrew YoungAndrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...
|
1977–1979 |
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
|
| 15 |
Donald McHenry Donald Franchot McHenry is a former American diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations from September 1979 until January 20, 1981.-Biography:...
|
1979–1981 |
| 16 |
Jeane KirkpatrickJeane Jordan Kirkpatrick was an American ambassador and an ardent anticommunist. After serving as Ronald Reagan's foreign policy adviser in his 1980 campaign and later in his Cabinet, the longtime Democrat-turned-Republican was nominated as the U.S...
|
1981 |
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
|
| 1982-1985 |
Javier Pérez de CuéllarJavier Pérez de Cuéllar y de la Guerra is a Peruvian diplomat who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1991. He studied in Colegio San Agustín of Lima, and then at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. In 1995, he ran unsuccessfully...
|
| 17 |
Vernon A. Walters Vernon A. Walters was a United States Army officer and a diplomat. Most notably, he served from 1972 to 1976 as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, from 1985 to 1989 as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations and from 1989 to 1991 as Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany...
|
1985–1989 |
| 18 |
Thomas R. PickeringThomas Reeve "Tom" Pickering , is a retired United States ambassador. Among his many diplomatic appointments, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992.-Early life:...
|
1989–1991 |
George H. W. BushGeorge Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
|
| 1992 |
Boutros Boutros-GhaliBoutros Boutros-Ghali is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1992 to December 1996...
|
| 19 |
Edward J. PerkinsEdward Joseph Perkins is a former American diplomat. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, South Africa, and the United Nations 1992-1993. He was later Director of the US State Department's Diplomatic Corps....
|
1992–1993 |
| 20 |
Madeleine AlbrightMadeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
|
1993–1996 |
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
|
| 1997 |
Kofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
|
| 21 |
Bill RichardsonWilliam Blaine "Bill" Richardson III is an American politician, who served as the 30th Governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. Before being elected governor, Richardson served in the Clinton administration as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary. Richardson has also served...
|
1997–1998 |
| — |
Peter Burleigh Albert Peter Burleigh is a United States foreign service officer and diplomat. He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy....
(acting) |
1998–1999 |
| 22 |
Richard HolbrookeRichard Charles Albert Holbrooke was an American diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, Peace Corps official, and investment banker....
|
1999–2001 |
| — |
James B. Cunningham Ambassador James Blair Cunningham is an American diplomat. Having served as the acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations , and Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations , Cunningham served as the Consul General of the United States of...
(acting) |
2001 |
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
|
| 23 |
John D. Negroponte |
2001–2004 |
| 24 |
John DanforthJohn Claggett "Jack" Danforth is a former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and former Republican United States Senator from Missouri. He is an ordained Episcopal priest. Danforth is married to Sally D. Danforth and has five adult children.-Education and early career:Danforth was born...
|
2004–2005 |
| — |
Anne W. Patterson Anne Woods Patterson is an American diplomat and career Foreign Service Officer. She currently serves as the United States Ambassador to Egypt. She previously served as acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations in 2005 and as United States Ambassador to Pakistan from July 2007 to...
(acting) |
2005 |
| 25 |
John R. BoltonJohn Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
|
2005–2006 |
| — |
Alejandro Daniel Wolff Alejandro Daniel Wolff , an American diplomat, is the US Ambassador to Chile. He was the acting U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations...
(acting) |
2006 |
| 2007 |
Ban Ki-moonBan Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
|
| 26 |
Zalmay KhalilzadZalmay Mamozy Khalilzad is a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and president of Khalilzad Associates, an international business consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush...
|
2007–2009 |
| 27 |
Susan Rice |
2009–present |
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
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