Liberia
- Chiefs of Mission - People - Department History
Chiefs of Mission for Liberia
NOTE TO READERS
Updates to the Principal Officers and Chiefs of Mission database are currently suspended. For information about the Department’s current and recent leadership, we recommend visiting the Department of State homepage’s Biographies of Senior Officials and List of U.S. Ambassadors.
Notice posted on January 12, 2024.
Last
updated March 14, 2024.
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.