Somalia
- Chiefs of Mission - People - Department History
Chiefs of Mission for Somalia
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
- Andrew Green Lynch (1902–1966)
- Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, July 1, 1960–July 11, 1960
- Andrew Green Lynch (1902–1966)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, July 11, 1960–May 7, 1962
- Horace Gates Torbert Jr. (1911–2008)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 31, 1963–August 29, 1965
- Raymond LeRoy Thurston (1913–1981)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 23, 1965–December 15, 1968
- Fred Latimer Hadsel (1916–2010)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 28, 1969–July 18, 1971
- Matthew James Looram Jr. (1921–2004)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, March 13, 1972–July 5, 1973
- Roger Kirk (1930–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, October 8, 1973–February 20, 1975
- John Lewis Loughran (1921–2006)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 13, 1975–November 5, 1978
- Donald K. Petterson (1930–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 8, 1978–December 30, 1982
- Robert Bigger Oakley (1931–2014)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, January 26, 1983–August 12, 1984
- Peter Scott Bridges (1932–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, December 19, 1984–May 14, 1986
- Trusten Frank Crigler (1935–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, June 3, 1987–April 1, 1990
- James Keough Bishop (1938–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, September 19, 1990–January 5, 1991
- The U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu closed on January 5, 1991, and all U.S. personnel were withdrawn after the collapse of the central Somali government; however, the United States did not sever diplomatic relations with Somalia. Through the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, the United States maintained regular dialogue with transitional governments and other key stakeholders in Somalia, and after January 17, 2013, with the newly recognized central government of Somalia.
- Stephen Michael Schwartz (1958–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, August 9, 2016–July 21, 2017
- Martin Dale (?–)
- Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, July 21, 2017–November 13, 2018
- Donald Y. Yamamoto (1953–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, November 17, 2018–
Other Nominees
- Katherine Simmons Dhanani (1958–)
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary: Nomination of February 25, 2015, withdrawn May 11, 2015.