List of ambassadors of the United States to the Bahamas
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Bahamas , usually simply called U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas , is an official position and title appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate by majority vote. The ambassador oversees diplomatic relations and foreign policy between the United States and The Bahamas . The ambassador lives in Nassau , the capital of the Bahamas.
Due to political disputes, the United States Senate has not confirmed an ambassador to the Bahamas since November 2011, with the post either remaining vacant or held by interim appointees who are not ambassadors. Cassandra Butts , nominated for the post by President Barack Obama in 2013, died of leukemia in 2016, having spent more than two years awaiting a vote on her appointment. President Donald Trump nominated Doug Manchester in 2017 but the nomination stalled and he eventually withdrew.[ 2] In May 2020, President Trump nominated William A. Douglass for the position;[ 3] his nomination was eventually withdrawn by President Joe Biden in February 2021.[ 4] In May 2022, President Biden nominated Calvin Smyre for the position.[ 5] As of December 2024, Smyre's nomination remained pending before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee .[ 6] On December 18, 2024 President-elect Donald Trump announced that he had nominated Herschel Walker to serve in the role.[ 7]
List of U.S. ambassadors to the Bahamas
The following is a list of United States ambassadors , or other chiefs of mission, to The Bahamas . The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Representative
Title
Presentation of credentials
Termination of mission
Appointed by
Moncrieff J. Spear
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
July 10, 1973
September 7, 1973
Richard Nixon
Ronald I. Spiers
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
September 7, 1973
September 2, 1974
Seymour Weiss
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
September 11, 1974
December 15, 1976
Gerald Ford
Jack B. Olson
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
December 22, 1976
April 30, 1977
William Bernstein Schwartz Jr.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
October 11, 1977
January 31, 1981
Jimmy Carter
Lev E. Dobriansky
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
March 15, 1983
August 30, 1986
Ronald Reagan
Carol Boyd Hallett
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
November 17, 1986
May 10, 1989
Mayer Jacob Hecht
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
August 23, 1989
March 1, 1993
George H. W. Bush
Lino Gutierrez
Chargé d'Affairs ad interim
March 1, 1993
July 1993
Bill Clinton
John S. Ford
Chargé d'Affairs ad interim
July 1993
March 27, 1994
Sidney Williams
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
March 27, 1994
January 11, 1998
Arthur Louis Schechter
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
October 29, 1998
March 1, 2001
Daniel A. Clune
Charge d'Affaires ad interim
March 1, 2001
December 3, 2001
J. Richard Blankenship
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
December 3, 2001
July 18, 2003
George W. Bush
Robert M. Witajewski
Chargé d'Affairs ad interim
July 18, 2003
September 1, 2004
John D. Rood
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
September 1, 2004
April 10, 2007
D. Brent Hardt
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
April 10, 2007
October 25, 2007
Ned Siegel
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
October 26, 2007
January 20, 2009
Timothy Zúñiga-Brown
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
January 20, 2009
September 9, 2009
Barack Obama
Nicole Avant
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
October 22, 2009
November 21, 2011
John W. Dinkelman
Chargé d'Affaires
November 21, 2011
July 9, 2014
Lisa A. Johnson
Chargé d'Affaires
July 9, 2014
November 9, 2017
Donald Trump
James Herren
Chargé d'Affaires
November 9, 2017
March 1, 2018
Stephanie Bowers
Chargé d'Affaires
March 1, 2018
December 31, 2020
Usha E. Pitts
Chargé d'Affaires
January 1, 2021
April 19, 2024[ 8]
Joe Biden
Jason Crosby
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
April 19, 2024[ 9]
May 29, 2024
Michael P. Taylor
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
May 30, 2024
June 24, 2024
Kimberly Furnish
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
June 24, 2024
Incumbent
Donald Trump
Herschel Walker
Presumptive nominee
–
–
See also
References
General references
Inline citations
^ "Biography – Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Kimberly Furnish" . U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas . Retrieved June 25, 2024 .
^ "Possible pay-to-play scheme for ambassador role in Trump administration uncovered by CBS News" . CBS News . November 19, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2024 .
^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts" . whitehouse.gov . Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via National Archives .
^ "Withdrawals Sent to the Senate" . whitehouse.gov . Executive Office of the President of the United States. February 4, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2022 .
^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees" . whitehouse.gov . Executive Office of the President of the United States. May 13, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022 .
^ "PN30 — Calvin Smyre — Department of State 118th Congress (2023-2024)" . US Congress . Retrieved December 24, 2024 .
^ Megerian, Chris (December 17, 2024). "Former RB Herschel Walker picked as Bahamas ambassador" . Associated Press . Archived from the original on December 24, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024 .
^ @MorningBlend (April 18, 2024). "@UshaPitts is leaving The Bahamas this week" (Tweet ) – via Twitter .
^ "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Jason Crosby" . U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas . April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024 .
External links
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