African American U.S. Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, and Ambassadors since 1869

United States of America Embassy seal

Since 1776 when the United States sent its first envoy to France, men and later women diplomats have been assigned to be the nation’s offical representatives in global capitals and to international organiations where they are responsible for major foreign policy portfolios. Prior to 1893 those individuals were called (Diplomatic) Ministers and Envoys. Since that date they have been called Ambassadors. Regardless of the name used, these individuals have been Chiefs of Mission which means they head U.S. diplomatic delegations to their respective nations and organizations. The list below includes the African American women and men who have served in these diplomatic capacities beginning with Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett who was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant to be Minister Resident and Consul General to Haiti in 1869.Photo of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

There are other 19th Century diplomatic officials, however, who have entries on BlackPast.org but who were never envoys, ministers, or ambassadors. They are William A. Leidesdorff who served as Vice Consul at Yerba Buena (now San Francisco) in 1845 when California was still part of Mexico, John L. Waller who was Consul at Tamatave, Madagascar from 1891 to 1894, Mifflin Wistar Gibbs who held the same post from 1897 to 1901, Richard T. Greener who was Consul at Vladivostok, Russia from 1901 to 1905, and James Weldon Johnson, who was appointed Consul to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela and later Corinto, Nicargua. William Henry Hunt holds the distinction of having served in more diplomatic poste than any other African American. During his thirty-one year career he served as Consul in Tamatave, Madagascar, following Mifflin W. Gibbs there. He also served in France, Guadeloupe, the Azores, and Liberia.

Since 1949 African American ambassadors have represented the United States in nearly 100 nations as well as before Internatioal Organizations such as the United Nations and the African Union. Their names are included in specific categories as well. The entire list of African American U.S. Envoys, Ministers, and Ambassadors appears below. The list of Ambassadors includes all but the following four latest Ambassadors: Stafford Fitzgerald Haney, Costa Rica, 2015; Crystal Nix-Hines, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2014; Michael A. Lawson, U.S. Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), 2014; and, Ronald Kirk, U.S. Trade Representative, 2009. Their bios will be added below soon.

We at BlackPast.org would like to thank Ambassador Sylvia Gaye Stanfield, Carlton McLellen, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) and the dozens of volunteers from across the United States who helped make this page possible.

America’s Black Ambassadors: A Historical Snapshot