List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Nations facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations
Flag of a United States chief of mission
Seal of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations
Incumbent Dorothy Shea Chargé d'affaires since January 20, 2025
United States Mission to the United Nations
Style	Madam Ambassador (informal) The Honorable (formal) Her Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of	National Security Council Cabinet
Reports to	President Secretary of State
Residence	50 United Nations Plaza
Seat	United Nations Headquarters New York City, New York, U.S.
Appointer	President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term At the pleasure of the United States president
Formation	December 21, 1945; 79 years ago (1945-12-21)
First holder	Edward Stettinius Jr.
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level IV

The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the main person who leads the U.S. team at the United Nations. This team is called the U.S. Mission. The official name for this job is the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations. This person also has the high rank of an ambassador and represents the U.S. in the United Nations Security Council.

When the ambassador is away, a deputy ambassador takes over. Like all U.S. ambassadors, both the ambassador and the deputy are chosen by the president of the United States. The Senate must then agree to their choice. The ambassador serves as long as the President wants them to. Sometimes, other delegates are appointed to help with specific tasks or issues.

The U.S. permanent representative speaks for the United States in the UN Security Council. They also speak at most big meetings of the General Assembly. The only time they don't is if a higher-ranking U.S. official, like the Secretary of State or the President, is there.

Even though they lead a mission outside the U.S., the ambassador also helps bring UN decisions and policies back to the United States.

The most recent ambassador was Linda Thomas-Greenfield. She was chosen by President Joe Biden and approved by the Senate on February 23, 2021. She served until January 20, 2025. Since then, Dorothy Shea has been serving as the acting ambassador.

After his presidential inauguration, Donald Trump nominated Elise Stefanik to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. However, he withdrew her nomination on March 27, 2025. On May 1, 2025, Trump announced he planned to nominate Mike Waltz for the role.

What is Cabinet Status?

Sometimes, the U.S. ambassador to the UN is also part of the President's Cabinet. Being in the Cabinet means the ambassador can talk directly to the President. This helps them share important information and make decisions faster.

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. was appointed ambassador in 1953 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower made the job a Cabinet-level position. This gave Lodge direct access to the President, without needing to go through the State Department first.

This Cabinet status changed over the years. It was removed by George H. W. Bush, who had been ambassador himself. Then, it was brought back during the Clinton administration. It was not a Cabinet job during the George W. Bush administration. But it was made a Cabinet position again under the Obama administration. The Trump administration kept it that way for a while with Nikki Haley. However, in December 2018, it was reported that the Trump administration would make it a non-Cabinet role again. The Biden administration then made it a Cabinet-level position once more.

John Bolton, a former UN ambassador, believed the job should not be in the Cabinet. He thought it made the UN seem too important in U.S. foreign policy. He also felt it was confusing to have two "secretaries" (the Secretary of State and the UN Ambassador) in the same area of government.

List of Ambassadors

This is a list of people who have held the job of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Status

      Denotes Acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations

#	Portrait	Name	Start	End	President
1		Stettinius Jr., EdwardEdward Stettinius Jr.	January 17, 1946	June 3, 1946		Truman, Harry S.Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
—		Johnson, HerschelHerschel Johnson Acting	June 3, 1946	January 14, 1947
2		Austin, WarrenWarren Austin	January 14, 1947	January 22, 1953
3		Lodge Jr., Henry CabotHenry Cabot Lodge Jr.	January 26, 1953	September 3, 1960		Eisenhower, Dwight D.Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
4		Wadsworth, James JeremiahJames Jeremiah Wadsworth	September 8, 1960	January 21, 1961
5		Stevenson II, AdlaiAdlai Stevenson II	January 23, 1961	July 14, 1965		Kennedy, John F.John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
						Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
6		Goldberg, ArthurArthur Goldberg	July 28, 1965	June 24, 1968
7		Ball, GeorgeGeorge Ball	June 26, 1968	September 25, 1968
8		Wiggins, James RussellJames Russell Wiggins	October 7, 1968	January 20, 1969
9		Yost, Charles W.Charles W. Yost	January 23, 1969	February 25, 1971		Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (1969–1974)
10		Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush	March 1, 1971	January 18, 1973
11		Scali, John A.John A. Scali	February 20, 1973	June 29, 1975
						Ford, GeraldGerald Ford (1974–1977)
12		Moynihan, Daniel PatrickDaniel Patrick Moynihan	June 30, 1975	February 2, 1976
13		Scranton, WilliamWilliam Scranton	March 15, 1976	January 19, 1977
14		Young, AndrewAndrew Young	January 30, 1977	September 23, 1979		Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter (1977–1981)
15		McHenry, DonaldDonald McHenry	September 23, 1979	January 20, 1981
16		Kirkpatrick, JeaneJeane Kirkpatrick	February 4, 1981	April 1, 1985		Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (1981–1989)
17		Walters, Vernon A.Vernon A. Walters	May 22, 1985	March 15, 1989
18		Pickering, Thomas R.Thomas R. Pickering	March 20, 1989	May 7, 1992		Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
19		Perkins, Edward J.Edward J. Perkins	May 12, 1992	January 27, 1993
20		Albright, MadeleineMadeleine Albright	January 27, 1993	January 21, 1997		Clinton, BillBill Clinton (1993–2001)
21		Richardson, BillBill Richardson	February 18, 1997	August 18, 1998
—		Burleigh, PeterPeter Burleigh Acting	August 18, 1998	September 7, 1999
22		Holbrooke, RichardRichard Holbrooke	September 7, 1999	January 20, 2001
—		Cunningham, James B.James B. Cunningham Acting	January 20, 2001	September 19, 2001		Bush, George W.George W. Bush (2001–2009)
23		Negroponte, JohnJohn Negroponte	September 19, 2001	July 23, 2004
24		Danforth, JohnJohn Danforth	July 23, 2004	January 20, 2005
—		Patterson, Anne W.Anne W. Patterson Acting	January 20, 2005	August 2, 2005
25		Bolton, JohnJohn Bolton	August 2, 2005	December 31, 2006
—		Wolff, Alejandro DanielAlejandro Daniel Wolff Acting	December 31, 2006	April 30, 2007
26		Khalilzad, ZalmayZalmay Khalilzad	April 30, 2007	January 22, 2009
27		Rice, SusanSusan Rice	January 26, 2009	June 30, 2013		Obama, BarackBarack Obama (2009–2017)
—		DiCarlo, RosemaryRosemary DiCarlo Acting	June 30, 2013	August 5, 2013
28		Power, SamanthaSamantha Power	August 5, 2013	January 20, 2017
—		Sison, Michele J.Michele J. Sison Acting	January 20, 2017	January 27, 2017		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2017–2021)
29		Haley, NikkiNikki Haley	January 27, 2017	December 31, 2018
—		Cohen, Jonathan R.Jonathan R. Cohen Acting	January 1, 2019	September 12, 2019
30		Craft, KellyKelly Craft	September 12, 2019	January 20, 2021
—		Mills Jr., Richard M.Richard M. Mills Jr. Acting	January 20, 2021	February 25, 2021		Biden, JoeJoe Biden (2021–2025)
31		Thomas-Greenfield, LindaLinda Thomas-Greenfield	February 25, 2021	January 20, 2025
—		Dorothy Shea Acting	January 20, 2025	present		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2025–present)

Deputy Ambassadors

The United States deputy ambassador to the United Nations is the second most important U.S. diplomat at the UN. They work with the General Assembly and the Security Council in New York. This person also has the high rank of an ambassador. The deputy ambassador takes on the ambassador's duties when the ambassador is not there.

• Ernest A. Gross – October 11, 1949 – 1953
• James J. Wadsworth^† – February 28, 1953 – 1960
• Charles W. Yost^† – February 13, 1961 – 1966
• William B. Buffum – January 1967 – 1970
• W. Tapley Bennett Jr. – 1971–1977
• James F. Leonard – 1977–1979
• William vanden Heuvel – 1979–1981
• Kenneth L. Adelman – confirmed July 29, 1981 – 1983
• José S. Sorzano – confirmed July 26, 1983 – 1985
• Herbert S. Okun – confirmed October 1, 1985 – 1989
• Alexander F. Watson – confirmed August 4, 1989 – 1992
• Edward S. Walker Jr. – confirmed October 8, 1992 – 1993
• Skip Gnehm – April 1994 – August 1997
• Peter Burleigh – August 1997 – December 1999
• James B. Cunningham – December 12, 1999 – July 2004
• Anne W. Patterson – August 2004 – August 2005
• Alejandro Daniel Wolff – November 2005 – June 2010
• Rosemary DiCarlo – July 8, 2010 – November 1, 2014
• Michele J. Sison – December 7, 2014 – February 21, 2018
• Kelley Eckels Currie (acting) – February 21, 2018 – June 8, 2018
• Jonathan Cohen – June 8, 2018 – November 17, 2019
• Richard M. Mills Jr. – November 9, 2020 – June 21, 2024
• Dorothy Shea – August 16, 2024 – Present

^†These deputy ambassadors later became full U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations.

Deputies to the Ambassador

The deputy to the ambassador to the UN is a different job from the deputy ambassador. This person helps the U.S. ambassador to the UN by working in Washington, D.C. They manage the ambassador's office there and talk with Congress. They can also fill in for the UN ambassador when needed. Both roles can exist at the same time. For example, in 2019, Taryn Frideres was Deputy to the Ambassador while Jonathan Cohen was Deputy Ambassador to the UN.

• Taryn Frideres – October 2019 – February 25, 2021
• Jeffrey Prescott – February 25, 2021 – February 25, 2024
• Ned Price – February 29, 2024 – January 20, 2025

See also

• Residence of the United States ambassador to the United Nations