This is a list of

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 s ...

s to the

Swiss Confederation ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the

Principality of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

History

Since 1997, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland has also been

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

to the Principality of Liechtenstein. Appointed on February 10, 1997, Ambassador Madeleine M. Kunin served as the first United States Ambassador to Liechtenstein. She presented her credentials to Liechtenstein on March 14, 1997, which marked the beginning of the United States' diplomatic relations with the country. (Although the United States executed its first treaty with Liechtenstein in 1926, at the time Liechtenstein was represented by Switzerland.) Before 1997 it was understood that the rights of a U.S.–Swiss agreement also extended to citizens of Liechtenstein because it had yielded control of its foreign affairs to Switzerland. At the end of the 20th century, however, it "began pursuing independent membership in international organizations".

Political appointees

U.S. ambassadors are nominated by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The position of ambassador to Switzerland is generally held by a

political appointee According to the United States Office of Government Ethics, a political appointee is "any employee who is appointed by the President, the Vice President, or agency head". As of 2016, there were around 4,000 political appointment positions whi ...

rather than a 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 ...

(FSO). According to the

American Foreign Service Association American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 dues-paying members, American Foreign Service Association represents 28,000 active and ret ...

, only two career FSOs since 1960 have been appointed to the Swiss and Liechtenstein ambassadorship (both times were in the 1970s), whereas the remaining twenty ambassadors were political appointees, typically those known as "campaign bundlers" who raise large sums of money for presidential campaigns.

List of ambassadors

Recess appointments

The following were commissioned during a Senate recess and thus were recommissioned after their post-recess confirmations. * George Harrington (confirmed January 22, 1866) * Nicholas Fish II (confirmed October 30, 1877) *

Boyd Winchester Boyd Winchester (September 23, 1836 – May 18, 1923) was a United States representative from Kentucky. He was born in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. He pursued preparatory studies and then attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and the Univ ...

(confirmed January 21, 1866) * John L. Peak (confirmed December 21, 1866) *

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 ...

(twice commissioned during recess but did not serve under either)

Other cases

Theodore Sedgwick Fay was nominated to be Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on February 25, 1856, but his nomination was withdrawn before the Senate acted on it. George Schneider was commissioned during a Senate recess and he took the oath of office but did not proceed to post.

References

United States Department of State: Background notes on Switzerland
*

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Switzerland

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Liechtenstein

United States Department of State: Switzerland

United States Department of State: Liechtenstein

United States Embassy in Bern
{{Ambassadors of the United States Switzerland and Liechtenstein * *

History

Political appointees

List of ambassadors

Recess appointments

Other cases

References

See also

References

External links