This is a list of

ambassadors of the United States Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

(formerly Upper Volta). Until 1960 Upper Volta was a French possession as a part of

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...

. In 1958 Upper Volta became an

autonomous republic An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province or state. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Man ...

in the

French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...

''(Communauté française)'', and achieved independence as the Republic of Upper Volta on August 5, 1960. The United States recognized Upper Volta immediately and assigned its first envoy on the nation's independence day, August 5. The envoy, Donald R. Norland, had presented his credentials as ''

Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

ad interim'' on the previous day, August 4, to take effect on the day of independence. Norland was also the ''Chargé d'Affaires a.i.'' to the newly independent nations: Ivory Coast (

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

), Dahomey (

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

) and

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesAbidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

. The first ranking ambassador,

R. Borden Reams Robert Borden Reams (January 27, 1904 – March 26, 1994) was an American diplomat. He was the first United States Ambassador to Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Dahomey (now Benin), Niger, and Ivory Coast (now Côte d'Ivoire) simultaneously. On J ...

, was appointed October 17, 1960. He was also the ambassador to the aforementioned countries while resident in Abidjan. On December 31, 1960, an

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

was established in

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

with a resident ''Chargé d'affaires''. On May 29, 1961, the first ambassador solely accredited to Upper Volta was appointed. On August 4, 1984, the nation's name was changed to Burkina Faso. The United States Embassy in Burkina Faso is located in

Ambassadors

Notes

References

United States Department of State: Background notes on Burkina Faso
*

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Burkina Faso

United States Department of State: Burkina Faso

United States Embassy in Ouagadougou
{{Ambassadors of the United States

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Ambassadors

Notes

See also

References

External links