The United States Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture is the head of the United States Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome and holds the rank of

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 ...

to the three United Nations agencies for food and agriculture located in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the

International Fund for Agricultural Development The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD; french: link=no, Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA)) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address ...

, and the World Food Programme.

History

Originally, there had been a U.S. permanent representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization. However, this position had not held ambassador rank, but instead had been part of the Embassy of the United States of America to the Italian Republic and had reported to the United States Ambassador to Italy. In 1983, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

created the United States Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome and split out this role to a separate, ambassador-rank position. (Due to its heritage, the new position has occasionally been known as the United States Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.) As with regular ambassadorial posts, nominations are made by the President of the United States and confirmation by the United States Senate is required. As head of the mission, the ambassador oversees staff from the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Agency for International Development. The U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome is a part of the "Tri-Mission Community" in Rome, along with the Embassy of the United States of America to the Italian Republic (headed by the United States Ambassador to Italy) and the

Embassy of the United States to the Holy See The Embassy of the United States of America to the Holy See (or Embassy Vatican for short) is the diplomatic mission of United States of America to the Holy See, a term referring to the central government and universal reach of the Roman Catholic C ...

(the United States Ambassador to the Holy See position was also split out and elevated to ambassador rank at the same time as the UN Agencies one was). The three ambassadors sometimes engage in joint activities. Ambassadors to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture are typically appointed for three-year terms. The position has attracted some well-known Americans: Millicent Fenwick, the first to hold it at the ambassador rank, was a nationally prominent former member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

;

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

was a former United States Senator and the 1972 Democratic Party presidential nominee; Tony P. Hall was a long-time sitting member of the House who resigned his seat in order to take on the role; and Cindy McCain was a politically active humanitarian who achieved further visibility as the wife and then widow of a senator and presidential nominee. Several of the nominees, especially including McGovern and Hall, had long prior involvements with food, agriculture, and hunger issues. On the other hand, from 1988 through 1997 the position was held by career

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

s. During 2017–18 the position was vacant, one of many unfilled by the new administration. During such times the acting personage is the ''

Chargé d'affaires a.i. Chargé () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Chargé is a small town near Amboise. The Rock 'in Chargé festival has revitalized the village sinc2006 Population The inhabitants are called ''Chargéens''. See al ...

'', who in this case was Thomas M. Duffy. Then in 2019, a nominee was finally confirmed for the post.

Ambassadors

The following is a chronological list of those who have held the position since its elevation in rank, with what are typically their appointment and termination of service dates: # Millicent Fenwick (June 13, 1983 – March 20, 1987) #

Fred J. Eckert Fred J. Eckert (born May 6, 1941) is an American politician and diplomat who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 30th congressional district for one term. A friend and political ally of Ronald Reaga ...

(May 7, 1987 – January 11, 1989) #

Gerald J. Monroe Gerald is a male Germanic name, Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English language, English given name Jerrold, the Female, feminine nickname Jeri ...

(November 8, 1988 – July 5, 1992) # William H. Marsh (July 24, 1992 – September 4, 1994) #

Thomas Austin Forbord Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

(August 23, 1994 – September 8, 1997) #

(March 10, 1998 – September 28, 2001) # Tony P. Hall (September 12, 2002 – April 5, 2006) #

Gaddi Vasquez Gaddi Holguin Vasquez (born January 22, 1955) was the 8th United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, in Rome, Italy. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States ...

(September 7, 2006 – January 17, 2009) #

Ertharin Cousin Ertharin Cousin (born 1957) is an American lawyer who served as the twelfth executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme from 2012 to 2017. Following the completion of her term, Cousin became Payne Distinguished Professor at S ...

(August 17, 2009 – April 5, 2012) # David J. Lane (July 19, 2012 – August 9, 2016) #

Kip E. Tom Kip E. Tom served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, and chief of the United States Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome, from 2019 to 2021. The United Nations has six different food and agricu ...

(April 11, 2019 – January 19, 2021) # Cindy McCain (November 5, 2021 – Present)

References

External links

United States Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome

Principal Officers and Chiefs of Mission Chronological Listing

U.S. Representatives to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture (Rome)
{{Ambassadors of the United States United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture United States and the United Nations United States agricultural policy