The Embassy of the United States of America, Singapore 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 ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. It is one of the largest American embassies in the Asia-Pacific region and the focal point for events relating to the United States held in Singapore. It also provides assistance to American citizens and residents who live in Singapore, and issues

visas Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

to Singapore nationalsAs Singapore is a part of the

Visa Waiver Program The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the Federal government of the United States, United States government that allows nationals of specific countries to travel to the United States for tourism, business, or while in transit for up t ...

, Singapore citizens may travel to the

for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. and foreign nationals residing in Singapore. The office of the

United States Ambassador to Singapore The United States ambassador to Singapore is the official representative of the United States of America to the Republic of Singapore. Pending confirmation by the United States Senate, the designated ambassador of the Embassy of the United Sta ...

was held by Jonathan E. Kaplan, appointed with effect from 6 December 2021 until Jan 2025.

Location

The embassy is located at Tanglin Road. The closest Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station is Napier.

History

Early years

The first US diplomatic mission in Singapore was established in 1833 with the assignment of

Joseph Balestier Joseph Balestier (19 March 1788 – 12 November 1858), was a planter and merchant who was the first United States consul in Rhiau and in Singapore. In 1849, he was appointed Envoy and Diplomatic Agent of the United States to South Eastern Asia. ...

as consul. Although Singapore was an important free trade port, there was some question over whether Americans were legally allowed to conduct business there by the British, and so he was officially assigned to "Rhio (

Riau Riau (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including s ...

, then a part of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

) and such other places as are nearer thereto than to the Residence of any other Consul or Vice Consul of the United States" while residing in Singapore and mostly conducting business related to the territory. It was only in 1836 that an official consulate was established in Singapore with Balestier as consul. The post was promoted to a consulate-general in 1893.

20th century

The mission acquired the Spring Grove house in 1930 to house diplomats and opened a

United States Information Service The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...

library on 26 Raffles Place in 1950 that the embassy claims "was so popular that bus services to downtown Singapore had to be extended through the evenings". A new consulate building, the first to be built instead of acquired for this purpose, was opened on 30 Hill Road in 1961. Although the United States first proposed that the post be raised to embassy status in late 1965, the Singaporean government took a while to warm up to the idea as it gradually shifted to improve relations with the US while maintaining a non-aligned stance overall, and the promotion was finally agreed to and executed in April 1966.

Current location

During the 1990s, it was decided that the embassy is to moved to a new site at the Tanglin district for improved security and capacity measures, with several embassy properties being sold in 1989 to fund the nearly US$100 million cost of the new compound. In 1994, ground was broken and the construction of the new complex officially began. Designed by The Stubbins Associates, it was completed in 1997 after around two years.

Role in Singapore–United States relations

The embassy has been reprimanded at times by the

Singapore government The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to consist of the President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the President but exercised on the advice of the Cabinet le ...

over what it states are "interference in Singapore's internal politics", dating back to the Hendrickson affair in 1988 which led to a major diplomatic fallout involving the recall of a diplomat each from both countries' embassies. In May 2021, a minor event occurred after the embassy held a virtual seminar with an

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

group about the economic benefits of inclusion worldwide, with Singaporean authorities stating that it amounted to U.S. interference in the national debate over the government's LGBT policies. It also declared that such domestic social and political matters are "choices for only Singaporeans to debate and decide." Embassy representatives refuted those allegations. In March 2024, the U.S. Department of State Office of Inspector General released a report on Ambassador Jonathan E. Kaplan. The audit found that Kaplan had threatened embassy staff and made poor relations with the Singapore government.

Location

History

Early years

20th century

Current location

Role in Singapore–United States relations

See also

Notes

References

External links