Chiefs of Mission for Liberia

Chiefs of Mission

• Abraham Hanson (1818–1866)
  • Commissioner and Consul General, February 23, 1864–July 20, 1866
• John Seys (1799–1872)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, January 2, 1867–June 11, 1870
• James Milton Turner (1840–1915)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, July 19, 1871–May 7, 1878
• John Henry Smyth (1844–1908)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, August 19, 1878–December 22, 1881
• Henry Highland Garnet (1815–1882)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, December 22, 1881–February 13, 1882
• John Henry Smyth (1844–1908)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, August 4, 1882–December 14, 1885
• Moses Aaron Hopkins (1846–1886)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, December 14, 1885–August 3, 1886
• Charles Henry James Taylor (1857–1898)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, June 4, 1887–September 22, 1887
• Ezekiel Ezra Smith (1852–1933)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, July 21, 1888–May 20, 1890
• Alexander Clark (1826–1891)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, November 25, 1890–May 31, 1891
• William D. McCoy (1853–1893)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, March 28, 1892–May 15, 1893
• William Henry Heard (1850–1937)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, May 6, 1895–April 28, 1898
• Owen Lun West Smith (1851–1926)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, May 11, 1898–May 13, 1902
• John R.A. Crossland (1864–1950)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, May 13, 1902–January 30, 1903
• Ernest Lyon (1860–1938)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, July 27, 1903–August 25, 1910
• William Demos Crum (1859–1912)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, August 25, 1910–September 17, 1912
• George Washington Buckner (1855–1943)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, December 8, 1913–April 15, 1915
• James L. Curtis (1870–1917)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, December 29, 1915–October 20, 1917
• Joseph Lowery Johnson (1874–1945)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, October 8, 1919–February 13, 1922
• Solomon Porter Hood (1853–1943)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, February 13, 1922–January 9, 1926
• William Treyanne Francis (1870–1929)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General, November 30, 1927–July 15, 1929
• Lester Aglar Walton (1882–1965)
  • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 2, 1935–February 28, 1946
• Raphael O’Hara Lanier (1900–1962)
  • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, July 1, 1946–June 8, 1948
• Edward Richard Dudley (1911–2005)
  • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, October 18, 1948–May 6, 1949
• Edward Richard Dudley (1911–2005)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 6, 1949–June 15, 1953
• Jesse Dwight Locker (1891–1955)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 16, 1953–April 10, 1955
• Richard Lee Jones (1893–1975)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 24, 1955–July 24, 1959
• Elbert George Mathews (1910–1977)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 30, 1959–May 4, 1962
• Charles Edward Rhetts (1910–1971)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 7, 1962–September 30, 1964
• Ben Hill Brown Jr. (1914–1989)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 6, 1965–July 17, 1969
• Samuel Zazachilds Westerfield Jr. (1919–1972)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 9, 1969–July 19, 1972
• Melvin Lawrence Manfull (1919–2000)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 22, 1972–December 15, 1975
• William Beverly Carter Jr. (1921–1982)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, April 23, 1976–January 1, 1979
• Robert Powell Smith (1929–2012)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 6, 1979–January 15, 1981
• William Lacy Swing (1934–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 11, 1981–June 10, 1985
• Edward Joseph Perkins (1928–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 28, 1985–October 22, 1986
• James Keough Bishop (1938–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, May 4, 1987–March 31, 1990
• Peter John De Vos (1938–2008)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 22, 1990–July 27, 1992
• William H. Twaddell (1941–)
  • Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, September 1992–July 1995
• William B. Milam (1936–)
  • Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, November 1995–January 1999
• Bismarck Myrick (1940–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 20, 1999–July 23, 2002
• John William Blaney (1948–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 3, 2002–July 13, 2005
• Donald E. Booth (1954–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 9, 2005–July 11, 2008
• Linda Thomas-Greenfield (1952–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 27, 2008–February 29, 2012
• Deborah Ruth Malac (1955–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 20, 2012–December 18, 2015
• Christine Elder (?–)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 23, 2016–March 21, 2020

Other Nominees

• John J. Henry (?–?)
  • Commissioner and Consul General: Declined appointment.
• John Randolph Clay (1808–1885)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General: Not commissioned; nomination not confirmed by the Senate.
• Francis E. Dumas (?–?)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General: Declined appointment.
• James W. Mason (?–?)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General: Did not proceed to post.
• Frederick Randolph Moore (1857–1943)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General: Took oath of office, but did not proceed to post.
• James Garneth Carter (1877–1949)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General: Declined appointment.
• Charles Edward Mitchell (1870–?)
  • Minister Resident/Consul General: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned on December 16, 1930, after confirmation. Did not proceed to post in this capacity.
• Charles Edward Mitchell (1870–?)
  • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Took oath of office and proceeded to post, but did not present credentials. The Government of Liberia requested his recall on February 11, 1933; Mitchell left post on March 22, 1933.