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Ambassador of the United States to Libya
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Jeremy Berndt
Chargé d’Affaires ad interim

since October 9, 2023
Residence Tripoli
Nominator The President of the United States
Appointer The President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder Henry Serrano Villard
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Formation February 7, 1952
Website U.S. Embassy – Tripoli

The United States ambassador to Libya is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Libya.

History

Until its independence in 1951, Libya had been a colony of Italy (1912–1947) and then under British and French occupation until 1951. In 1949 The UN General Assembly had passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952 (Resolution 289). On December 24, 1951, Libya declared its independence under King Idris.

The United States recognized the Kingdom of Libya on December 24, 1951, in a congratulatory message sent by President Harry Truman to King Idris I. Diplomatic relations were established on the same day and the U.S. Consulate-General was elevated to a legation with Andrew Lynch designated as Charge d'Affaires ad interim. The first official envoy to Libya was Henry Serrano Villard, who presented his credentials on March 6, 1952.

On December 2, 1979, a mob attacked and burned the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli. On December 29, the U.S. Department of State designated Libya as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Chargé d’Affaires was recalled on February 8, 1980 and the embassy was closed May 2, 1980. However, diplomatic relations were not formally severed. Diplomatic relations were not resumed until 2006.

The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli was closed and all diplomatic personnel were evacuated on February 25, 2011, due to the Libyan civil war. The embassy of Hungary in Tripoli acted as the protecting power for U.S. interests from the closure of the embassy until its reopening on September 22, 2011.

On July 15, U.S. Secretary of State Clinton announced that the U.S. Government recognizes the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council as the "legitimate governing authority" of Libya—which de facto withdraws recognition from the Gaddafi government. On September 12, 2012 the US ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack on the Benghazi consulate, along with three other embassy employees.

The U.S Embassy was again evacuated and closed on July 26, 2014. Embassy staff totaling approximately 150 personnel, including about 80 U.S Marines, were evacuated overland to Tunisia during a military assisted departure. USAF F-16's provided armed overwatch for the embassy convoy as they drove through Libya. The evacuation was due to major fighting around the embassy related to the 2014 Libyan Civil War.

However, the United States did not sever diplomatic relations with Libya. Working from the U.S. Embassies in Valletta, Malta and, after August 2015, Tunis, Tunisia under the authority of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, U.S. diplomats in the Libya External Affairs Office maintained regular dialogue with the provisional Libyan Government.

Ambassadors and chiefs of mission

Name Title Appointed Presented credentials Terminated mission Notes
Andrew Green Lynch – Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires a.i. December 24, 1951 Superseded by Ambassador Villard, March 6, 1952
Henry Serrano Villard – Career FSO Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary February 7, 1952 March 6, 1952 June 24, 1954 John Newton Gatch was serving as Chargé d’Affaires a.i. when the U.S. legation in Libya was raised to Embassy status on September 25, 1954.
John L. Tappin – Political appointee Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary September 25, 1954 November 16, 1954 Superseded by Ambassador Jones March 17, 1958
John Wesley Jones – Career FSO February 5, 1958 March 17, 1958 Left Libya December 20, 1962
Edwin Allan Lightner – Career FSO May 3, 1963 May 27, 1963 June 30, 1965
David D. Newsom – Career FSO July 22, 1965 October 16, 1965 June 21, 1969
Joseph Palmer II – Career FSO July 8, 1969 October 9, 1969 November 7, 1972
Harold G. Josif Chargé d'Affaires ad interim November 1972 December 1973
Robert A. Stein December 1973 December 1974
Robert Carle January 1975 August 1978
William L. Eagleton August 1978 February 8, 1980 Recalled February 8, 1980 following breakdown of diplomatic relations.
The U.S. Embassy at Tripoli closed May 2, 1980. However, diplomatic relations were not formally severed. The United States established an Interests Section at the Belgian Embassy in Tripoli, February 8, 2004. It became the U.S. Liaison Office on June 28, with Gregory L. Berry as the Principal Officer. On May 31, 2006, the U.S. resumed full diplomatic relations with Libya, and the Interests Section in Tripoli became an embassy, with Gregory L. Berry as Charge d'Affaires ad interim.
Gregory L. Berry – Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim May 31, 2006 October 10, 2006
Charles O. Cecil – Career FSO November 15, 2006 July 11, 2007
Gene A. Cretz – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary December 17, 2008 January 11, 2009 May 15, 2012
J. Christopher Stevens – Career FSO May 22, 2012 June 7, 2012 September 12, 2012. Stevens was killed in a terrorist attack on the U.S consulate in Benghazi.
Laurence Pope – Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim October 11, 2012 January 4, 2013
William Roebuck – Career FSO January 4, 2013 May 2013
Deborah K. Jones – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 2013 June 20, 2013 November 19, 2015
Peter W. Bodde – Career FSO November 19, 2015 January 21, 2016 June 20, 2018
Richard B. Norland – Career FSO August 1, 2019 August 8, 2019 September 8, 2022
Leslie Ordeman - Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim September 8, 2022 August 23, 2023
Richard B. Norland – Career FSO Special Envoy and Chargé d'Affaires ad interim August 24, 2023 October 9, 2023
Jeremy Berndt - Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires ad interim October 9, 2023 Incumbent
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