Chiefs of Mission for Afghanistan

Chiefs of Mission

• William Harrison Hornibrook (1884–1946)
  • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 4, 1935–March 16, 1936
• Louis Goethe Dreyfus Jr. (1889–1973)
  • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, May 19, 1941–July 25, 1942
• During Dreyfus’ tenure as non-resident Minister, and in the interval between Engert’s appointment and his arrival at his post, Legation Kabul was opened on June 6, 1942.
• Charles Wheeler Thayer (1910–1969)
  • Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, June 6, 1942–July 2, 1942
• Cornelius Van Hemert Engert (1887–1985)
  • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 2, 1942–August 17, 1945
• Ely Eliot Palmer (1887–1977)
  • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, December 6, 1945–June 5, 1948
• Ely Eliot Palmer (1887–1977)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 5, 1948–November 18, 1948
• Louis Goethe Dreyfus Jr. (1889–1973)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 16, 1949–January 19, 1951
• George Robert Merrell (1898–1962)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 28, 1951–May 3, 1952
• Angus Ivan Ward (1893–1969)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 8, 1952–March 3, 1956
• Sheldon Tibbetts Mills (1904–1988)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 6, 1956–February 3, 1959
• Henry Alfred Byroade (1913–1993)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 21, 1959–January 19, 1962
• John Milton Steeves (1905–1998)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 20, 1962–July 21, 1966
• Robert Gerhard Neumann (1916–1999)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, February 19, 1967–September 10, 1973
• Theodore Lyman Eliot Jr. (1928–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 21, 1973–June 14, 1978
• Adolph Dubs (1920–1979)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 12, 1978–February 14, 1979
• J. Bruce Amstutz (1928–)
  • Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, February 1979–February 1980
• Hawthorne Quinn Mills (1928–)
  • Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, February 1980–January 1982
• Charles Franklin Dunbar (1937–)
  • Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, January 1982–May 1983
• Edward Hurwitz (1931–)
  • Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, June 1983–March 1986
• James Maurice Ealum (1930–)
  • Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, March 1986–September 1987
• Beginning January 9, 1987, Chiefs of Mission were designated Chargés d’Affaires.
• Jon David Glassman (1944–)
  • Chargé d’Affaires, September 1987–January 1989
• Embassy Kabul closed on January 30, 1989. The Liasion Office in Kabul opened on December 17, 2001. Embassy Kabul re-opened on January 17, 2002.
• Ryan Clark Crocker (1949–)
  • Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, January 2, 2002–April 3, 2002
• Robert Patrick John Finn (1945–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 3, 2002–August 1, 2003
• Zalmay Khalilzad (1951–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 28, 2003–June 20, 2005
• Ronald E. Neumann (1944–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 1, 2005–April 10, 2007
• William Braucher Wood (1950–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 16, 2007–April 3, 2009
• Karl Winfrid Eikenberry (1951–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 21, 2009–July 19, 2011
• Ryan Clark Crocker (1949–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 25, 2011–July 23, 2012
• James B. Cunningham (1952–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 13, 2012–December 7, 2014
• Peter Michael McKinley (1954–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 6, 2015–December 18, 2016
• John R. Bass (1964–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 12, 2017–January 6, 2020

Other Nominees

None