The Embassy of the United States to Bahrain is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. The building is located in Zinj, a district of the capital,

Manama Manama ( ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and List of cities in Bahrain, largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 297,502 as of 2012. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is ...

. The post of U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain is currently held by Steven C. Bondy. The embassy is one of two major American installations in Bahrain, the other being Naval Support Activity Bahrain, a base which houses the main

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

operations in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

History

The United States formally acknowledged the sovereignty of the State of Bahrain on August 15, 1971 coinciding with its independence from the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. Embassy Manama was officially inaugurated on September 21, 1971, with John N. Gatch, Jr. assuming the role of Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The first official ambassador, William Stoltzfus, presented his credentials to the Bahraini government on February 17, 1972, while maintaining residence in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. It was not until 1974 that Ambassador Joseph W. Twinam submitted his credentials and became the first American ambassador to take up residence at Embassy Manama. The embassy was dedicated on 4 July 1990 and occupied in December that year. The building was constructed in accordance with

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

security requirements.

Protests

Bahraini citizens and activists have protested outside of the embassy for various reasons, including anti-Iraq War demonstrations, the presence of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and to protest Israeli actions in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. The U.S. had seen by some as a proxy for the Israeli government when Israel and Bahrain did not have diplomatic relations.

References

{{Bahrain–United States relations 1971 establishments in Bahrain

Diplomatic missions in Bahrain Bahrain–United States relations

History

Protests

See also

References