The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom (known formally as the ambassador of the United States to the

Court of St James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

) is the official representative of the president of the United States and the American government to the monarch and government of the United Kingdom. The position is held by

Jane D. Hartley Jane Dorothy Hartley (born April 18, 1950) is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom in the Joe Biden administration since 2022. She served as the United States ambassador to France and Monaco fr ...

, who presented her credentials to Queen Elizabeth II on July 19, 2022. The position is regarded as one of the most prestigious posts in the United States Foreign Service due to the "

Special Relationship The Special Relationship is a term that is often used to describe the politics, political, social, diplomacy, diplomatic, culture, cultural, economics, economic, law, legal, Biophysical environment, environmental, religion, religious, military ...

" between the United States and United Kingdom. The ambassadorship has been held by various notable politicians, including five who would later become presidents: John Adams, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren and

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

. However, the modern tendency of American presidents (of both parties) is to appoint keen political fundraisers from previous presidential campaigns, despite the importance and prestige of the office. The

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

and executive staff work at the American Embassy in

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east. The area was formerly mainly industrial bu ...

, London. The official residence of the ambassador is

Winfield House Winfield House is an English townhouse in Regent's Park, central London and the official residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. The grounds are , the second-largest private garden in London after that of Buckingham P ...

in Regent's Park.

Duties

The ambassador's main duty is to present US policies to the government of the United Kingdom and its people, as well as report British policies and views to the federal government of the United States. The ambassador serves as a primary channel of communication between the two nations and plays an important role in treaty negotiations. The ambassador is the head of the United States' consular service in the United Kingdom. As well as directing diplomatic activity in support of trade, the ambassador is ultimately responsible for visa services and for the provision of consular support to American citizens in the UK and oversees cultural relations between the two countries.

List of US chiefs of mission to the Court of St James's

Ministers (1785–1811)

John Adams is referred to as the first "ambassador". He is also referred to as the first "minister plenipotentiary". ''Plenipotentiary'' means "having full power"; a minister that has power to act for their country in all matters.

Ministers (1815–1893)

Diplomatic relations with Great Britain were restored after the War of 1812. The Congress of Vienna (1815) established a uniform system of diplomatic rank. Under that system, the highest rank of "ambassador" was a personal representative of a sovereign, and the next rank of "minister", represented a government. As a republic, the United States maintained diplomatic relations with Great Britain at the rank of ''Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary''. The rank was colloquially known as ''Minister'', and the position continued to be referred to as "United States Minister to Great Britain".

Ambassadors (1893–present)

Although France became a republic in 1870, the country continued to exchange ambassadors with other Great Powers. In 1893, the United States followed the French precedent and upgraded its relations with other Great Powers to the ambassadorial level. The United States

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 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...

in London became the United States Embassy, and the United States Minister to Great Britain became the United States Ambassador to Great Britain.

Notes

References

United States Department of State: Background notes on the United Kingdom
*

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for the United Kingdom

United States Department of State: United Kingdom

United States Embassy in London
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom United Kingdom Lists of ambassadors to the United Kingdom Politics of the United Kingdom