History of United States Ambassadors to Nigeria

The Embassy in Lagos was established October 1, 1960, with Ambassador Palmer in charge pending presentation of his letter of credence.

Nigeria–United States relations are bilateral relations between the Federal Republic of Nigeriaand the United States of America. Nigeria and the United States have long been close allies.

The United States is Nigeria’s greatest trading partner and is undeniably its most important diplomatic partner.

 

The following is a list of United States Ambassadors to Nigeria.

Ambassadors	Appointment	End of term	Notes
Joseph Palmer II-	September 23, 1960	Reaccredited when Nigeria became a republic; presented new credentials December 12, 1963; Left post January 16, 1964	Career FSO .The Embassy in Lagos was established October 1, 1960, with Ambassador Palmer in charge pending presentation of his letter of credence.
Elbert G. Mathews –	March 10, 1964	July 26, 1969	Career FSO
William C. Trueheart –	September 19, 1969	September 1, 1971	Career FSO
John Reinhardt	September 30, 1971	February 23, 1975
Donald B. Easum	March 26, 1975	October 15, 1979	Career FSO
Stephen Low	September 20, 1979	July 4, 1981	Career FSO
Thomas R. Pickering	October 26, 1981	July 9, 1983	Career FSO
Thomas W. M. Smith	February 10, 1984	May 5, 1986	Career FSO
Princeton Nathan Lyman	September 12, 1986	July 24, 1989	Career FSO
Lannon Walker	October 10, 1989	July 10, 1992	Career FSO
William Lacy Swing	June 15, 1992	September 22, 1993	Career FSO
Walter C. Carrington	August 10, 1993	October 7, 1997
William H. Twaddell	November 10, 1997	August 3, 2000	Career FSO
Howard Franklin Jeter	December 28, 2000	July 30, 2003	Career FSO
Donald K. Steinberg			Career FSO
John Campbell	May 12, 2004	July 19, 2007	Career FSO
Robin Renee Sanders	2008	2010	Career FSO
Terence P. McCulley	September 28, 2010		Career FSO
James F. Entwistle	May 23, 2013	Incumbent	Career FSO

Notes:

• The U.S. Embassy was transferred from Lagos to Abuja September 15, 2000.
• S. diplomatic terms
• Career FSO;

After 1915, The United States Department of State began classifying ambassadors as career Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) for those who have served in the Foreign Service for a specified amount of time.

• Political appointee;

A person who is not a career foreign service officer, but is appointed by the president.

• Appointed;

The date that the ambassador took the oath of office; also known as “commissioning”. It follows confirmation of a presidential appointment by the Senate, or a Congressional-recess appointment by the president. In the case of a recess appointment, the ambassador requires subsequent confirmation by the Senate.

• Presented credentials;

The date that the ambassador presented his letter of credence to the head of state or appropriate authority of the receiving nation. At this time the ambassador officially becomes the representative of his country. This would normally occur a short time after the ambassador’s arrival on station. The host nation may reject the ambassador by not receiving the ambassador’s letter, but this occurs only rarely.

• Terminated mission;

Usually the date that the ambassador left the country. In some cases, a letter of recall is presented, ending the ambassador’s commission, either as a means of diplomatic protest or because the diplomat is being reassigned elsewhere and replaced by another envoy.

• Chargé d’affaires;

The person in charge of the business of the embassy when there is no ambassador commissioned to the host country. See chargé d’affaires.

• Ad interim;

Latin phrase meaning “for the time being”, “in the meantime”. See ad interim.

Source: US Embassy / Wikiepedia