The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations were upgraded to the higher rank of Ambassador in 1893. The diplomatic relationship has continued through France's two empires, three monarchies, and five republics. Since 2006 the ambassador to France has also served as the ambassador to Monaco.

List of United States chiefs of mission in France

Ministers to the Court of Versailles (1778–1792)

Relations between the United States and the French Court of Versailles were established in 1778 with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. As a republic, the United States was not entitled to send an ambassador. Instead, relations were maintained at the lower diplomatic rank of ''Minister''. The position was formally known as the ''Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America at the Court of Versailles''.

Ministers to the First Republic (1792–1804)

Diplomatic relations were broken in 1796 due to French anger at U.S. neutrality in the War of the First Coalition. After the

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refused to accept

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (February 25, 1746 – August 16, 1825) was an American Founding Father, statesman of South Carolina, Revolutionary War veteran, and delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he signed the United States Constit ...

's credentials, a commission was appointed to negotiate with the French Republic. The members of the commission — Pinckney,

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, and

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry (; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death in 18 ...

— were all accredited with the rank of ''Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary''. French officials demanded a bribe before they would commence negotiations, scuttling the mission in the XYZ Affair. Hostilities culminated in the outbreak of the Quasi-War between the U.S. and France. Diplomatic relations were restored with the Convention of 1800. James Monroe was accredited Minister Plenipotentiary to the French Republic in 1803 to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. However, Robert Livingston remained chief of mission.

Ministers to the Court of the Tuilleries (1804–1848)

Since Versailles had been stripped of its furnishings during the French Revolution, Napoleon I returned the French court to its pre-1682 home at the Tuilleries. U.S. ministers to all future French monarchs would be accredited to the

Tuilleries The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, fro ...

. After the Congress of Vienna standardized the system of diplomatic ranks, the United States continued to send a ''Minister'', who was officially credentialed as an ''Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary''.

Ministers to the Second Republic (1848–1852)

Ministers to the Court of the Tuilleries (1852–1870)

Ministers to the Third Republic (1870–1893)

Ambassadors to the Third Republic (1893–1942)

After it became a republic, France continued to exchange ambassadors with other Great Powers. This put an end to the longstanding rule that only Great Power monarchies could exchange ambassadors with each other. As the United States grew in population and economic strength, it followed the French example. In 1893, the United States upgraded its diplomatic relations with the other Great Powers to the ambassadorial level.

Ambassadors to the Fourth Republic (1944–1961)

Ambassadors to the Fifth Republic (1961–present)

References

External links

United States Embassy in Paris official site

United States Department of State: France

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for France

Interview with 1984 U.S. Ambassador to France
from th
Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Ambassador To France France Lists of ambassadors to France