United States Ambassador to Cuba

The United States ambassador to the Republic of Cuba is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Cuba, and serves as the head of the Embassy of the United States in Havana. Direct bilateral diplomatic relations did not exist between the two countries from 1961 to 2015. President Dwight D. Eisenhower severed relations following the Cuban Revolution on January 3, 1961. Relations were subsequently restored by Cuban President Raul Castro and President Barack Obama on July 20, 2015.

With the restoration of relations in 2015, the president may nominate an ambassador, though the position has remained vacant since 1960. The embassy is currently run by a Chargé d'affaires ''ad interim'', Benjamin G. Ziff. The Chargé d'affaires and the embassy staff at large work in the American Embassy on the Malecón in Havana.

History

Cuba was the last major Spanish colony to gain independence, following a lengthy struggle that began in 1868. José Martí, Cuba's national hero, helped initiate the final push for independence in 1895. In 1898, the United States fought a brief war known as the Spanish–American War, after the USS ''Maine'' sank in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, due to an explosion of undetermined origin. In December 1898, Spain relinquished control of Cuba to the United States with the Treaty of Paris. On May 20, 1902, the United States granted Cuba its independence but retained the right to intervene to preserve Cuban independence and stability in accordance with the Platt Amendment. In 1934, the Platt Amendment was repealed. The United States and Cuba concluded a Treaty of Relations in 1934 which, among other things, continued the 1903 agreements that leased the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to the United States. In 1959 Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista and Batista fled the country on January 1, 1959. Relations between the United States and Cuba deteriorated rapidly as the Cuban government expropriated US properties and developed close ties with the Soviet Union. In October 1960, the US recalled its ambassador to protest Castro's policies. On January 3, 1961, the US withdrew diplomatic recognition of the Cuban government and closed the embassy in Havana. On September 1, 1977, the US established the United States Interests Section in Havana, located in its former embassy and operated under the auspices of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana. The Interests Section was headed by Chief of Mission rather than an ambassador. Bilateral relations between the two governments resumed on July 20, 2015.

Ambassadors

Normal relations were severed in January 1961 and were not re-established until July 2015. An ambassador to Cuba has not been appointed since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations. All the following served Chargé d'affaires ''ad interim''.
* Jeffrey DeLaurentis from July 20, 2015, to July 7, 2017
* Scott Hamilton from July 7 to October 26, 2017
* Lawrence J. Gumbiner from October 26, 2017, to February 11, 2018
* Philip Goldberg from February 11 to July 20, 2018
* Mara Tekach from July 20, 2018 to July 21, 2020
* Timothy Zúñiga-Brown from July 31, 2020, to July 14, 2022
* Benjamin G. Ziff from July 14, 2022

Chiefs of the US Interests Section

The Interests Section operated from September 1, 1977, to July 20, 2015.

* 1977–1979: Lyle Franklin Lane
* 1979–1982: Wayne S. Smith
* 1982–1985: John Ferch
* 1985–1987: Curtis W. Kamman
* 1987–1990: John J. Taylor
* 1990–1993: Alan H. Flanigan
* 1993–1996: Joseph Sullivan
* 1996–1999: Michael Kozak
* 1999–2002: Vicki Huddleston
* 2002–2005: James Cason
* 2005–2008: Michael E. Parmly
* 2008–2010: Jonathan D. Farrar
* 2010–2011: ''Vacant''
* September 2011 – 2014: John Caulfield
* August 2014 – July 20, 2015: Jeffrey DeLaurentis

Notes

See also

* Cuba–United States relations
* Foreign relations of Cuba
* Ambassadors of the United States

Notes

References

United States Department of State: Background notes on Cuba
*

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Cuba

United States Department of State: Cuba

United States Embassy in Havana

{{Ambassadors of the United States

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