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List of ambassadors of the United States to the Bahamas

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Ambassador of the United States to the Bahamas
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Kimberly Furnish[1]
Chargé d'Affaires
since June 24, 2024
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderMoncrieff J. Spear
as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim
FormationJuly 10, 1973
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Nassau

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Bahamas, usually simply called U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, is an official position and title appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate by majority vote. The ambassador oversees diplomatic relations and foreign policy between the United States and The Bahamas. The ambassador lives in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas.

Due to political disputes, the United States Senate has not confirmed an ambassador to the Bahamas since November 2011, with the post either remaining vacant or held by interim appointees who are not ambassadors. Cassandra Butts, nominated for the post by President Barack Obama in 2013, died of leukemia in 2016, having spent more than two years awaiting a vote on her appointment. President Donald Trump nominated Doug Manchester in 2017 but the nomination stalled and he eventually withdrew.[2] In May 2020, President Trump nominated William A. Douglass for the position;[3] his nomination was eventually withdrawn by President Joe Biden in February 2021.[4] In May 2022, President Biden nominated Calvin Smyre for the position.[5] As of December 2024, Smyre's nomination remained pending before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[6] On December 18, 2024 President-elect Donald Trump announced that he had nominated Herschel Walker to serve in the role.[7]

List of U.S. ambassadors to the Bahamas

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The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to The Bahamas. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Representative Title Presentation
of credentials 		Termination
of mission 		Appointed by
Moncrieff J. Spear Chargé d'Affaires ad interim July 10, 1973 September 7, 1973 Richard Nixon
Ronald I. Spiers Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 7, 1973 September 2, 1974
Seymour Weiss Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 11, 1974 December 15, 1976 Gerald Ford
Jack B. Olson Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary December 22, 1976 April 30, 1977
William Bernstein Schwartz Jr. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary October 11, 1977 January 31, 1981 Jimmy Carter
Lev E. Dobriansky Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary March 15, 1983 August 30, 1986 Ronald Reagan
Carol Boyd Hallett Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 17, 1986 May 10, 1989
Mayer Jacob Hecht Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary August 23, 1989 March 1, 1993 George H. W. Bush
Lino Gutierrez Chargé d'Affairs ad interim March 1, 1993 July 1993 Bill Clinton
John S. Ford Chargé d'Affairs ad interim July 1993 March 27, 1994
Sidney Williams Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary March 27, 1994 January 11, 1998
Arthur Louis Schechter Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary October 29, 1998 March 1, 2001
Daniel A. Clune Charge d'Affaires ad interim March 1, 2001 December 3, 2001
J. Richard Blankenship Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary December 3, 2001 July 18, 2003 George W. Bush
Robert M. Witajewski Chargé d'Affairs ad interim July 18, 2003 September 1, 2004
John D. Rood Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 1, 2004 April 10, 2007
D. Brent Hardt Chargé d'Affaires ad interim April 10, 2007 October 25, 2007
Ned Siegel Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary October 26, 2007 January 20, 2009
Timothy Zúñiga-Brown Chargé d'Affaires ad interim January 20, 2009 September 9, 2009 Barack Obama
Nicole Avant Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary October 22, 2009 November 21, 2011
John W. Dinkelman Chargé d'Affaires November 21, 2011 July 9, 2014
Lisa A. Johnson Chargé d'Affaires July 9, 2014 November 9, 2017
Donald Trump
James Herren Chargé d'Affaires November 9, 2017 March 1, 2018
Stephanie Bowers Chargé d'Affaires March 1, 2018 December 31, 2020
Usha E. Pitts Chargé d'Affaires January 1, 2021 April 19, 2024[8] Joe Biden
Jason Crosby Chargé d'Affaires ad interim April 19, 2024[9] May 29, 2024
Michael P. Taylor Chargé d'Affaires ad interim May 30, 2024 June 24, 2024
Kimberly Furnish Chargé d'Affaires ad interim June 24, 2024 Incumbent

See also

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References

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General references

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  • "U.S. Diplomatic chiefs of mission to Bahamas". The Political Graveyard. March 10, 2005. Retrieved September 6, 2007.
  • United States Department of State: Background notes on the Bahamas
  • Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.

Inline citations

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  1. ^ "Biography – Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Kimberly Furnish". U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Possible pay-to-play scheme for ambassador role in Trump administration uncovered by CBS News". CBS News. November 19, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via National Archives.
  4. ^ "Withdrawals Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. Executive Office of the President of the United States. February 4, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". whitehouse.gov. Executive Office of the President of the United States. May 13, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "PN30 — Calvin Smyre — Department of State 118th Congress (2023-2024)". US Congress. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  7. ^ Megerian, Chris (December 17, 2024). "Former RB Herschel Walker picked as Bahamas ambassador". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  8. ^ @MorningBlend (April 18, 2024). "@UshaPitts is leaving The Bahamas this week" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Jason Crosby". U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas. April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
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