The British Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

diplomatic mission 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 den ...

to the

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The official title is His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America. The ambassador's residence is on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C. It was designed by Sir

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memor ...

and built in 1928.

Duties

The position of ambassador to the United States is considered to be one of the most important and prestigious posts in

His Majesty's Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...

, along with that of

Permanent Under-Secretary of State A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil s ...

at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

. The ambassador's main duty is to present British policies to the American government and people, and to report American policies and views to the

Government of the United Kingdom ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

. They serve as the primary channel of communication between the two nations, and play an important role in treaty negotiations. The ambassador is the head of the United Kingdom's consular service in the United States. As well as directing diplomatic activity in support of trade, they are ultimately responsible for visa services and for the provision of consular support to British citizens in America. They also oversee cultural relations between the two countries.

History

The first British envoy to the United States was Sir John Temple, who was appointed consul general in 1785 and was based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

at the estate at

Richmond Hill (Manhattan) Richmond Hill was a colonial estate in Manhattan Island, that was built on a parcel of the "King's Farm" obtained on a 99-year lease in 1767 from Trinity Church by Major Abraham Mortier, paymaster of the British army in the colony. Part of th ...

which served previously as a headquarters for

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

. George Hammond was appointed on 5 July 1791. He held the title of Minister in Washington or Minister to the United States of America. In 1809, David Erskine and President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

negotiated a compromise on Anglo-American disputes over shipping in the Atlantic, which might have averted the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. However, the deal was rejected by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

and the British Government recalled Erskine. By the 1850s, the envoy's title was Her Majesty's

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to the United States of America, and the United Kingdom had consulates in several American cities. Under the direction of Sir John Crampton in 1854 and 1855, British consuls attempted to enlist American volunteers to fight in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. The American government strenuously objected, and President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

asked for Crampton to be recalled. The United Kingdom refused, and in May 1856 the American government dismissed Crampton, along with the United Kingdom's consuls in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

. After much negotiation, the United Kingdom was allowed to re-establish its Legation in Washington the following year, and Lord Napier became the new minister. In 1893, the British diplomatic mission in Washington was raised from a

Legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legations ...

to 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 den ...

, and Sir Julian Pauncefote, Minister since 1889, was appointed as the United Kingdom's first ambassador to the United States, with the title Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States. The role has in the past been offered to three former

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

: the

Earl of Rosebery Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively. Its name comes from Roseberry Topping, a hill near Archibald's wif ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

and

Sir Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath ...

, all of whom declined.

Heads of mission

Minister plenipotentiary (1791–1795)

As a republic, the United States was not entitled to receive an ambassador. Instead, the United Kingdom dispatched a diplomat with the lower

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

of ''minister plenipotentiary''. This placed the United Kingdom on equal footing with France, which also maintained a minister plenipotentiary in the United States. 1791–1795: George Hammond

Envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary (1796–1893)

In 1796, the United Kingdom raised its representation to ''

envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

'', or ''minister''. Diplomatic relations would be maintained at this rank for almost 100 years. *1796–1800: Sir Robert Liston *1800–1804: Sir Edward Thornton *1803–1806:

Anthony Merry Anthony Merry (2 August 1756 – 14 June 1835) was a British diplomat. Biography The son of a London wine merchant, Anthony Merry served in various diplomatic posts in Europe between 1783 and 1803, holding mostly consular positions. In 1803 he ...

*1807–1809: Hon. David Erskine *1809–1811: Francis Jackson *1811–1812: Sir Augustus Foster *1812–1815: ''No representation due to the

'' *1815–1820: Hon. Sir Charles Bagot *1820–1824:

Stratford Canning Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, (4 November 1786 – 14 August 1880) was a British diplomat who became best known as the longtime British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A cousin of George Canning, he served as Envoy ...

*1825–1835: Sir Charles Vaughan *1835–1843: Sir Henry Fox *1843–1847: Richard Pakenham *1849–1852: Sir Henry Bulwer *1852–1856: Sir John Crampton, Bt *1857–1858: Lord Napier *1858–1865: Lord Lyons *1865–1867: Sir Frederick Bruce *1867–1881: Sir Edward Thornton *1881–1888: Hon. Lionel Sackville-West *1889–''1893'': Sir Julian Pauncefote

Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary (from 1893)

*1893–1902: Sir Julian Pauncefote (Lord Pauncefote from 1899) *1902–1903: Hon. Sir Michael Herbert *1903–1906: Sir Mortimer Durand *1907–1913: James Bryce (later Viscount Bryce) *1913–1918: Sir Cecil Spring Rice *1918–1919: The Earl of Reading *1919–1920: Viscount Grey of Fallodon *1920–1924: Sir Auckland Geddes *1924–1930: Sir Esme Howard *1930–1939: Sir Ronald Lindsay *1939–1940: The Marquess of Lothian *1940–1946:

Viscount Halifax A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

(Earl of Halifax from 1944) *1946–1948: Lord Inverchapel *1948–1952: Sir Oliver Franks *1953–1956: Sir Roger Makins *1956–1961: Sir Harold Caccia *1961–1965: Hon. Sir David Ormsby-Gore (Lord Harlech from 1964) *1965–1969: Sir Patrick Dean *1969–1971: Rt. Hon. John Freeman *1971–1974: The Earl of Cromer *1974–1977: Hon. Sir Peter Ramsbotham *1977–1979: Hon. Peter Jay *1979–1982:

Sir Nicholas Henderson Sir John Nicholas Henderson, (1 April 191916 March 2009), known as Nicko Henderson, was a British diplomat and writer, who served as British Ambassador to the United States from 1979 to 1982. Life and career Henderson was born in London, the ...

*1982–1986: Sir Oliver Wright *1986–1991: Sir Antony Acland *1991–1995: Sir Robin Renwick *1995–1997:

Sir John Kerr Sir John Robert Kerr (24 September 1914 – 24 March 1991) was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He is primarily known for his involvement in the 1975 constit ...

*1997–2003:

Sir Christopher Meyer Sir Christopher John Rome Meyer (22 February 1944 – 27 July 2022) was a British diplomat who served as the Ambassador to the United States (1997–2003), Ambassador to Germany (1997), and the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission (2 ...

*2003–2007:

Sir David Manning Sir David Geoffrey Manning, (born 5 December 1949) is a former British diplomat, who was the British Ambassador to the United States from 2003 to 2007. He authored the so-called " Manning Memo", that summarized the details of a meeting between ...

*2007–2012: Sir Nigel Sheinwald *2012–2016: Sir Peter Westmacott *2016–2019: Lord Darroch of Kew *2020–present: Dame Karen Pierce

Ambassadors in fiction

* Sir Everard Everett, in

Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

's ''

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit ''Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit'' is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 15 October 1954 by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States on 23 February 1955 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, under t ...

'' * Lord John Marbury, in

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

''. * Sir Mark Brydon, in the BBC's '' The State Within''.

References

External links

UK and United States of America
gov.uk {{Lists of heads of UK diplomatic missions

United States of America 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 territo ...