The United States ambassador to Libya is the official representative of the president of the United States to the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

History

Until its independence in 1951, Libya had been a colony of Italy (1912–1947) and then under British and French occupation until 1951. In 1949 The

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

had passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952 ( Resolution 289). On December 24, 1951, Libya declared its independence under

King Idris Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi ( ar, إدريس, Idrīs; 13 March 1890 – 25 May 1983) was a Libyan political and religious leader who was King of Libya from 24 December 1951 until his overthrow on 1 September 1969. He ruled ov ...

. The United States recognized the

Kingdom of Libya The Kingdom of Libya ( ar, المملكة الليبية, lit=Libyan Kingdom, translit=Al-Mamlakah Al-Lībiyya; it, Regno di Libia), known as the United Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 1963, was a constitutional monarchy in North Africa which ca ...

on December 24, 1951, in a congratulatory message sent by President Harry Truman to King Idris I. Diplomatic relations were established on the same day and the U.S.

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

-General was elevated to a

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...

with Andrew Lynch designated as

Charge d'Affaires Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...

''ad interim''. The first official

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an automobile brand used to sell Bri ...

to Libya was

Henry Serrano Villard Henry Serrano Villard (March 30, 1900January 21, 1996) was an American foreign service officer, ambassador and author. Life Henry S. Villard was born in Manhattan, New York City March 30, 1900. He was the great-grandson of William Lloyd Garrison, ...

, who presented his credentials on March 6, 1952. On December 2, 1979, a mob attacked and burned the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli. On December 29, 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 ...

designated Libya as a

state sponsor of terrorism State-sponsored terrorism is terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent non-state actors. States can sponsor terrorist groups in several ways, including but not limited to funding terrorist ...

. The Chargé d’Affaires was recalled on February 8, 1980 and the embassy was closed May 2, 1980. However, diplomatic relations were not formally severed. Diplomatic relations were not resumed until 2006. The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli was closed and all diplomatic personnel were evacuated on February 25, 2011, due to the

Libyan civil war Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

. The embassy of Hungary in Tripoli acted as the

protecting power A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state in a country where it lacks its own diplomatic representation. It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with e ...

for U.S. interests from the closure of the embassy until its reopening on September 22, 2011. On July 15,

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Clinton announced that the U.S. Government recognizes the Libyan rebel

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

as the "legitimate governing authority" of Libya—which ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' withdraws recognition from the

Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

government. On September 12, 2012 the US ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack on the Benghazi consulate, along with three other embassy employees. The U.S Embassy was again evacuated and closed on July 26, 2014. Embassy staff totaling approximately 150 personnel, including about 80 U.S Marines, were evacuated overland to Tunisia during a military assisted departure.

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

F-16's provided

armed overwatch The Armed Overwatch program is an effort launched by U.S. Special Operations Command to purchase roughly 75 crewed, fixed-wing aircraft to perform close air support, precision strike, and ISR missions.https://beta.sam.gov/opp/3de1f580d51b44acaa ...

for the embassy convoy as they drove through Libya. The evacuation was due to major fighting around the embassy related to the 2014 Libyan Civil War. However, the United States did not sever diplomatic relations with Libya. Working from the U.S. Embassies in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and, after August 2015,

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under the authority of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, U.S. diplomats in the Libya External Affairs Office maintained regular dialogue with the provisional Libyan Government.Chiefs of Mission for Libya
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Ambassadors and chiefs of mission

Notes

References

United States Department of State: Background notes on Libya
*

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Libya

United States Department of State: Libya

United States Embassy in Tripoli
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambassadors of the United States to Libya

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

Ambassadors and chiefs of mission

Notes

See also

References

External links