The United States ambassador to Syria is the official representative of the president of the United States to the
president of Syria
The president of Syria, officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: رئيس سوريا) is the head of state of the Syria, Syrian Arab Republic. They are vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at their sole discreti ...
.
From the
partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
The partition of the Ottoman Empire (30 October 19181 November 1922) was a geopolitical event that occurred after World War I and the occupation of Constantinople by British, French and Italian troops in November 1918. The partitioning was ...
in 1922 until 1944, had been under the control of France as
a part of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. The United States appointed
George Wadsworth as agent and consul general to Syria and Lebanon on October 9, 1942, to provide a quasi-diplomatic presence in Damascus until the United States determined that Syria achieved effective independence in 1944. The United States
recognized Syria as an independent state on September 8, 1944, when the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Jamil Mardam Bey
Jamil Mardam Bey ( ota, جميل مردم بك; tr, Cemil Mardam Bey; 1895–1960), was a Syrian politician. He was born in Damascus to a prominent aristocratic family. He is a descendant of the Ottoman general, statesman and Grand Vizier Lala ...
, informed the United States that Syria fully recognized and would protect existing rights of the United States and its nationals. This Syrian assurance was in response to a letter sent on September 7, 1944, by the U.S. diplomatic agent and consul general in Syria that offered "full and unconditional recognition" upon receipt of such written assurances. The United States established diplomatic relations with Syria when George Wadsworth presented his credentials as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on November 17, 1944. Wadsworth was concurrently the envoy to Syria and Lebanon while resident in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
.
Egypt and Syria united to form a new state, the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
(UAR) on February 22, 1958 with its capital in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
. The U. S. recognized the UAR and the embassy in Damascus was reclassified as a consulate general. Syria seceded from the Union in 1961 and U. S.–Syria diplomatic relations were reestablished on October 10, 1961. The consulate general was once again elevated to
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 ...
status.
Syria severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. on June 6, 1967 in the wake of the
1967 Arab-Israeli War. In the interim a U.S. Interests Section in Syria was established on February 8, 1974, in the Italian Embassy with Thomas J. Scotes as Principal Officer. Normal relations were resumed in 1974.
The U. S. recalled its ambassador to Syria in 2005 after the assassination of
Rafic Hariri
Rafic Bahaa El Deen Al Hariri ( ar, رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from ...
. A series of chargés d’affaires represented the U.S. until the appointment of Robert Stephen Ford in January 2011.
Ambassadors and chiefs of mission
See also
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Embassy of Syria, Washington, D.C.
The Embassy of Syria in Washington, D.C. ( ar, سفارة الجمهورية العربية السورية في واشنطن) is the suspended diplomatic mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United States. The final ambassador of the Syria ...
*
Syria – United States relations
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
*
Foreign relations of Syria
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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 ...
References
United States Department of State: Background notes on Syria*
External links
United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for SyriaUnited States Department of State: SyriaUnited States Embassy in Damascus
{{Ambassadors of the United States
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
United States Ambassadors
*