This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (December 2021)
Ambassador of the United States to Malawi
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
David Young
since May 5, 2022
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderEdward W. Holmes
as Chargé d'affaires ad interim
FormationJuly 6, 1964
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Lilongwe

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved on December 31, 1963, and Malawi became a fully independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations on July 6, 1964.

The United States immediately recognized the new nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The U.S. embassy in Blantyre (later Zomba) was established July 6, 1964—independence day for Malawi—with David Young as current ambassador.

Ambassadors

U.S. diplomatic terms

Career FSO
After 1915, The United States Department of State began classifying ambassadors as career Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) for those who have served in the Foreign Service for a specified amount of time.

Political appointee
A person who is not a career foreign service officer, but is appointed by the president (often as a reward to political friends).

Appointed
The date that the ambassador took the oath of office; also known as "commissioning". It follows confirmation of a presidential appointment by the Senate, or a Congressional recess appointment by the president. In the case of a recess appointment, the ambassador requires subsequent confirmation by the Senate to remain in office.

Presented credentials
The date that the ambassador presented his letter of credence to the head of state or appropriate authority of the receiving nation. At this time the ambassador officially becomes the representative of his country. This would normally occur a short time after the ambassador's arrival on station. The host nation may reject the ambassador by not receiving the ambassador's letter, but this occurs only rarely.

Terminated mission
Usually the date that the ambassador left the country. In some cases a letter of recall is presented, ending the ambassador's commission, either as a means of diplomatic protest or because the diplomat is being reassigned elsewhere and replaced by another envoy.

Chargé d'affaires
The person in charge of the business of the embassy when there is no ambassador commissioned to the host country.

Ad interim
Latin phrase meaning "for the time being", "in the meantime".
Name Title Appointed Presented credentials Terminated mission Notes
Sam P. Gilstrap – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 1, 1964 July 8, 1964 October 6, 1965
Marshall P. Jones – Career FSO[1] November 10, 1965 January 13, 1966 March 20, 1970 Jones was reaccredited after Malawi became a republic and presented new credentials July 8, 1966.
William C. Burdett – Career FSO April 8, 1970 May 13, 1970 May 11, 1974
Robert A. Stevenson – Career FSO June 20, 1974 August 15, 1974 May 21, 1978 The Embassy was moved to Lilongwe April 1, 1976, during Stevenson’s tenure.
Harold E. Horan – Career FSO August 11, 1978 January 24, 1979 July 17, 1980 The post was vacant July 1980–August 1981. Robert M. Maxim served as chargé d'affaires during that interval.
John A. Burroughs, Jr. – Political appointee[2] May 7, 1981 August 17, 1981 June 9, 1984
Weston Adams – Political Appointee June 11, 1984 August 17, 1984 August 8, 1986 The post was vacant August 1986–May 1988. Dennis C. Jett served as chargé d'affaires ad interim during that period.
George Arthur Trail III – Career FSO April 28, 1988 May 13, 1988 May 2, 1991
Michael T. F. Pistor – Career FSO July 1, 1991 July 25, 1991 June 20, 1994
Peter R. Chaveas – Career FSO May 9, 1994 September 12, 1994 June 27, 1997
Amelia Ellen Shippy – Career FSO November 7, 1997 February 2, 1998 August 5, 2000
Roger A. Meece – Career FSO September 15, 2000 November 7, 2000 July 20, 2003
Steven A. Browning – Career FSO May 27, 2003 September 19, 2003 May 16, 2004
Alan W. Eastham – Career FSO August 2, 2005 August 25, 2005 July 15, 2008
Peter Bodde – Career FSO June 6, 2008 October 28, 2008 August 1, 2010 Edward W. Holmes served as chargé d'affaires ad interim from August 2010 to July 2011
Jeanine E. Jackson, Career FSO [3][4] July 5, 2011 October 20, 2011 September 25, 2014
Virginia E. Palmer, Career FSO December 18, 2014 February 27, 2015 June 7, 2019
Robert K. Scott, Career FSO April 16, 2019 August 6, 2019[5] October 20, 2021
David Young, Career FSO March 2, 2022 May 5, 2022 Incumbent

Notes

  1. ^ Jones was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 27, 1966.
  2. ^ An earlier nomination of September 22, 1980 was not acted upon by the Senate.
  3. ^ "Government In The Lab | Blog | Ambassador to Malawi: Who is Jeanine Jackson?". govinthelab.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-12.
  4. ^ "Ambassador | Embassy of the United States Lilongwe, Malawi". Archived from the original on 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  5. ^ "US Ambassador presents credentials to Mutharika". Retrieved 2019-08-08.

See also

References

External links

Ambassadors of the United States
Categories