Ambassador of the United States to Togo
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Elizabeth Fitzsimmons
since April 26, 2022
NominatorJoe Biden[1]
Inaugural holderLeland Barrows
as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
FormationJune 23, 1960
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Lomé

This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Togo.

Until 1955 French Togoland was a United Nations Trust Territory mandated by the U.N. to France. In 1955, French Togoland became the administrative Republic of Togo within the French Community (Communauté française), although it retained its UN trusteeship status. In 1960 Togo severed its constitutional ties with France, shed its UN trusteeship status, and became fully independent as the Togolese Republic.

The United States immediately recognized Togo and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The State Department established an embassy in Yaoundé in nearby Cameroon on January 1, 1960, with Bolard More as Chargé d'affaires ad interim. The Yaoundé embassy was simultaneously accredited to Togo. The embassy in Lomé was established on April 27, 1960, with Jesse M. MacKnight as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. On June 23, 1960, Leland Barrows was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Cameroon with separate accreditation to Togo while remaining resident in Yaoundé. In 1961 a separate ambassador was appointed solely for Togo and resident at Lomé. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Togo since that date.

The United States Embassy in Togo is located in Lomé. The current Togolese ambassador to the United States is Limbiye Edawe Kadangha Bariki.[2]

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
Leland Barrows[3][4] – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary June 23, 1960 August 22, 1960 June 27, 1961
Leon B. Poullada – Career FSO April 18, 1961 July 27, 1961 February 24, 1964
William Witman II – Career FSO June 8, 1964 July 10, 1964 May 8, 1967
Albert W. Sherer, Jr.[5][6][7] – Career FSO September 13, 1967 October 13, 1967 March 5, 1970
Dwight Dickinson – Career FSO September 8, 1970 October 8, 1970 April 3, 1974
Nancy V. Rawls – Career FSO February 11, 1974 June 7, 1974 August 8, 1976
Ronald D. Palmer – Career FSO September 16, 1976 October 28, 1976 July 15, 1978
Marilyn P. Johnson – Career FSO September 23, 1978 November 3, 1978 July 29, 1981
Howard Kent Walker – Career FSO March 9, 1982 April 19, 1982 June 9, 1984
Owen W. Roberts – Career FSO June 28, 1984 July 31, 1984 July 5, 1986
David A. Korn – Career FSO October 16, 1986 November 4, 1986 April 4, 1988
Rush Walker Taylor, Jr. – Career FSO April 28, 1988 June 20, 1988 September 4, 1990
Harmon Elwood Kirby – Career FSO October 22, 1990 December 3, 1990 July 16, 1994
Johnny Young – Career FSO May 9, 1994 October 7, 1994 November 21, 1997
Brenda Schoonover – Career FSO November 11, 1997 January 7, 1998 July 30, 2000
Karl William Hofmann – Career FSO September 15, 2000 October 17, 2000 December 14, 2002
Gregory W. Engle – Career FSO April 16, 2003 May 22, 2003 April 1, 2005
David B. Dunn – Career FSO November 2, 2005 February 2, 2006 June 6, 2008
Patricia McMahon Hawkins[8] - Career FSO June 6, 2008 September 12, 2008 July 29, 2011
Robert E. Whitehead[9] - Career FSO April 2, 2012 May 7, 2012 September 26, 2015
David R. Gilmour[10] - Career FSO October 16, 2015 November 7, 2015 March 9, 2019
Eric W. Stromayer - Career FSO January 7, 2019 April 11, 2019[11] March 9, 2022
Elizabeth Fitzsimmons - Career FSO December 18, 2021 April 26, 2022 Incumbent

Notes

  1. ^ "President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate Nine Foreign Policy and National Security Leaders" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  2. ^ "Togoembassy.us".
  3. ^ Barrows was accredited to Cameroon and Togo, while resident in Yaoundé.
  4. ^ Barrows’ commission to Togo was superseded by appointment of an ambassador to Togo.
  5. ^ Sherer was commissioned during a recess of the Senate. He was renominated January 31, confirmed February 7, 1969, and recommissioned after confirmation. A nomination of Jan 9, 1969, was withdrawn before the Senate acted upon it.
  6. ^ Sherer was also accredited to Equatorial Guinea
  7. ^ During Sherer’s tenure as non-resident Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, the embassy in Santa Isabel (now Malabo) was opened August 1, 1969, with Albert N. Williams as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
  8. ^ Source: U.S. Embassy in Lomé Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Former Ambassadors | Lome, Togo - Embassy of the United States". Archived from the original on 2015-08-15.
  10. ^ "Ambassador Eric William Stromayer".
  11. ^ "New U.S. Ambassador to Togo Presents his Credentials". 11 April 2019.

See also

References

External links

Ambassadors of the United States
United States Ambassadors to Togo
Categories