In 1832, shortly after the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium, the United States established diplomatic relations. Since that time, a long line of distinguished envoys have represented American interests in Belgium. These diplomats included men and women whose career paths would lead them to become Secretary of States ( Hugh S. Legaré),

Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

( Charles Sawyer) and Chair of the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction o ...

(

Joseph E. Davies Joseph Edward Davies (November 29, 1876 – May 9, 1958) was an American lawyer and diplomat. He was appointed by President Wilson to be Commissioner of Corporations in 1912, and First Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission in 1915. He was t ...

). Belgian-American Relations were cemented when

Brand Whitlock Brand Whitlock (March 4, 1869 – May 24, 1934) was an American journalist, attorney, politician, Georgist, four-time mayor of Toledo, Ohio elected on the Independent ticket; ambassador to Belgium, and author of numerous articles and books, both ...

, as representative of the neutral United States, worked during World War I to bring humanitarian aid to help millions of Belgians in danger of starvation caused by the British blockade and the German occupation. Future envoys found themselves working through the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

, the foundation of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and joint efforts with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. In 1944, when Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed

Charles W. Sawyer Charles W. Sawyer (February 10, 1887April 7, 1979) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the United States Secretary of Commerce from May 6, 1948 to January 20, 1953 in the administration of Harry Truman. Early life Sawyer was born in ...

to Ambassador to Belgium he remarked "What could be more interesting, than the carrefour rossroadsof Europe in the closing days of the war?" and during the late 1960s another well-respected envoy

John S.D. Eisenhower John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (August 3, 1922 – December 21, 2013) was a United States Army officer, diplomat, and military historian. He was a son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. His military career span ...

, the son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, served as ambassador to Belgium. This is a complete list of United States ambassadors to Belgium:

United States Chargés d'Affaires to Belgium

* Hugh S. Legaré 1832–1836 *

Virgil Maxcy Virgil Maxcy (May 5, 1785 – February 28, 1844) was an American political figure. He was born in Massachusetts and spent his adult years in Maryland. He was killed in 1844 in a shipboard accident, when a cannon exploded aboard . Early life The ...

1837–1842 *

Henry Washington Hilliard Henry Washington Hilliard (August 4, 1808 – December 17, 1892) was a unionist U.S. Representative from Alabama and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. In later life, he became a proponent of abolitionism ...

1842–1844 * Thomas Green Clemson 1844–1851 * Richard H. Bayard 1851–1853 * John Jacob Seibels 1852–1854

United States Ministers Resident to Belgium

* John Jacob Seibels 1854–1856 *

Elisha Y. Fair Elisha Young Fair (July 2, 1809 – December 23, 1886) was a lawyer and minister to Belgium under president James Buchanan from his appointment on June 14, 1858 through May 8, 1861. Fair lived in Montgomery, Alabama where he also worked as a lawyer. ...

1858–1861 * Henry Shelton Sanford 1861–1869 * Joseph Russell Jones 1869–1875 * Ayres Phillips Merrill 1876–1877 * William C. Goodloe 1878–1880 * James O. Putnam 1880–1882 * Nicholas Fish II 1882–1885 * Lambert Tree 1885–1888

United States Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary to Belgium

* Lambert Tree 1888 * John Gibson Parkhurst 1888–1889 * Edwin H. Terrell 1889–1893 * James Stevenson Ewing 1893–1897 * Bellamy Storer 1897–1899 * Lawrence Townsend 1899–1905 * Henry Lane Wilson 1905–1909 *

Charles Page Bryan Charles Page Bryan (October 2, 1855 – March 13, 1918) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. Biography Bryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 2, 1855. He was the son of Thomas Barbour Bryan. Through his father, he was a me ...

1910–1911 *

Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later ''chargé d'affaires ...

1911–1912 * Theodore Marburg 1912–1914 *

1914–1919

United States Ambassadors to Belgium

1919–1921 * Henry P. Fletcher 1922–1924 *

William Phillips William Phillips may refer to: Entertainment * William Phillips (editor) (1907–2002), American editor and co-founder of ''Partisan Review'' * William T. Phillips (1863–1937), American author * William Phillips (director), Canadian film-make ...

1924–1927 * Hugh S. Gibson 1927–1933 * Dave Hennen Morris 1933–1937 * Hugh S. Gibson 1937–1938 *

1938–1939 * John Cudahy 1940 * Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr. 1941–1943 *

1944–1945 *

Alan Goodrich Kirk Admiral (United States), Admiral Alan Goodrich Kirk (October 30, 1888 – October 15, 1963) was a senior officer in the United States Navy and a diplomat. Biography He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1909 and served in the Unite ...

1946–1949 * Robert Daniel Murphy 1949–1952 * Myron Melvin Cowen 1952–1953 * Frederick M. Alger, Jr. 1953–1957 * John Clifford Folger 1957–1959 * William A. M. Burden 1959–1961 *

Douglas MacArthur II Douglas MacArthur II (July 5, 1909 – November 15, 1997) was an American diplomat. During his diplomatic career, he served as United States ambassador to Japan, Belgium, Austria, and Iran, as well as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislati ...

1961–1965 * Ridgway B. Knight 1965–1969 *

John S. D. Eisenhower John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (August 3, 1922 – December 21, 2013) was a United States Army officer, diplomat, and military historian. He was a son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. His military career sp ...

1969–1971 * Robert Strausz-Hupé 1972–1974 * Leonard Firestone 1974–1977 *

Anne Cox Chambers Anne Beau Cox Chambers (December 1, 1919 – January 31, 2020) was an American media proprietor, diplomat, and philanthropist who served as United States Ambassador to Belgium from 1977 to 1981. She co-owned the family company Cox Enterprises, ...

1977–1981 * Charles H. Price II 1981–1983 *

Geoffrey Swaebe Geoffrey Swaebe (March 23, 1911 – February 18, 1997) was a British-born American department store executive and diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. Life and career Swaebe was born in London on March 23, 1911. He came to the U ...

1983–1988 *

Maynard W. Glitman Maynard Wayne Glitman (December 8, 1933 – December 13, 2010) was an American diplomat. Glitman negotiated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. Later, Glitman served as the United States Ambassador to Belgium from 1988 to 1991. ...

1988–1991 * Bruce Gelb 1991–1993 *

Alan Blinken Alan John Blinken (born December 24, 1937) is an American businessman, political candidate, and former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Belgium from 1993 to 1997. Blinken was also the Democratic nominee in the 2002 United ...

1993–1997 * Paul L. Cejas 1997–2001 * Stephen Brauer 2001–2003 * Tom C. Korologos 2004–2007 *

Sam Fox Sam Fox (born May 9, 1929) is an American businessman in St. Louis, and the owner of Harbour Group Industries. He was the United States Ambassador to Belgium from April 11, 2007 until January 2, 2009. President George W. Bush appointed Fox t ...

2007–2009 * Wayne Bush 2009 (Acting) *

Howard W. Gutman Howard William Gutman (born July 8, 1956) is a lawyer, actor and former United States Ambassador to Belgium. After being nominated as Ambassador by United States President Barack Obama, Gutman was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 29, 2009, ...

2009–2013 * Denise Campbell Bauer 2013–2017 * Ronald Gidwitz 2018–2021 * Nicholas Berliner 2021–2022 (Acting) *

Michael M. Adler Michael M. Adler an American businessman who has served as the United States ambassador to Belgium since 2022. Education Adler has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Miami. Joe Biden campaign and administration ...

2022–present

References

United States Department of State: Background notes on Belgium
*

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Belgium

United States Department of State: Belgium

United States Embassy in Brussels
{{Ambassadors of the United States

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...