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
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 President of the United States
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 leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, and representative of the United States of America in the United Nations Security Council.

The deputy ambassador assumes the duties of the ambassador in their absence. As with all United States ambassadors, the ambassador to the UN and the deputy ambassador are both nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The ambassador serves at the pleasure of the President. The ambassador may be assisted by one or more appointed delegates, often appointed for a specific purpose or issue.

The U.S. permanent representative is charged with representing the United States on the UN Security Council, and during all plenary meetings of the General Assembly, except when a more senior officer of the United States (such as the secretary of state or the president of the United States) is in attendance.

Despite their title head of external mission, the United States ambassador to the United Nations is also responsible for importing United Nations policies and motions voted in the main organs of the United Nations onto the national territory.

The most recent ambassador is Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate on February 23, 2021.

Following his presidential inauguration, Donald Trump formally nominated Elise Stefanik, who is currently serving in the United States House of Representatives, to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in his second term.

Cabinet status

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., a leading moderate Republican who lost his seat in the United States Senate to John F. Kennedy in the 1952 elections, was appointed ambassador to the United Nations in 1953 by Dwight D. Eisenhower in gratitude for the defeated senator's role in the new president's defeat of conservative leader Robert A. Taft for the 1952 Republican nomination and subsequent service as his campaign manager in the general election; Eisenhower raised the ambassadorship to Cabinet rank in order to give Lodge direct access to him without having to go through the State Department.

The ambassadorship continued to hold this status throughout the remainder of the Cold War but was removed from Cabinet rank by George H. W. Bush, who had previously held the position himself. It was restored under the Clinton administration. It was not a Cabinet-level position under the George W. Bush administration (from 2001 to 2009), but was once again elevated under the Obama administration, and initially retained as such by the Trump administration during the tenure of Nikki Haley. However, in December 2018, it was reported by several news organizations that the Trump administration would once again downgrade the position to non-Cabinet rank. The position was again elevated to Cabinet rank in the Biden administration.

Former UN ambassador and national security advisor John R. Bolton has publicly opposed the granting of Cabinet-level status to the office, stating "One, it overstates the role and importance the U.N. should have in U.S. foreign policy, second, you shouldn't have two secretaries in the same department".

List of ambassadors

Status

      Denotes Acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations

The following is a chronological list of those who have held the office:

#	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)
6		Goldberg, ArthurArthur Goldberg	July 28, 1965	June 24, 1968		Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
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 (1969–1975)
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)

List of deputy ambassadors

The United States deputy ambassador to the United Nations serves as the second most senior American diplomat before the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council in New York and carries the diplomatic rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. In the absence of the ambassador, the deputy serves in their place.

• 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 (following a recess appointment) – 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 – c. 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 served as full U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations (see above).

List of deputies to the ambassador

The deputy to the ambassador to the UN is a separate position from the Senate-confirmed role of deputy ambassador to the United Nations. The deputy to the ambassador assists the U.S. ambassador to the UN by acting as a liaison in Washington, D.C., managing their Washington office, interacting with Congress and acting as a stand-in for the UN ambassador. The two roles co-exist, as in 2019 when Taryn Frideres was Deputy to the Ambassador at the same time that 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

In Spanish: Embajador de los Estados Unidos ante las Naciones Unidas para niños

• Diplomatic Security Service
• Residence of the United States ambassador to the United Nations