The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

to the

president of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Relations were upgraded to the higher rank of Ambassador in 1893. The diplomatic relationship has continued through France's two empires, three monarchies, and five republics. Since 2006 the ambassador to France has also served as the ambassador to Monaco.

List of United States chiefs of mission in France

Ministers to the Court of Versailles (1778–1792)

Relations between the United States and the French Court of Versailles were established in 1778 with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. As a republic, the United States was not entitled to send an ambassador. Instead, relations were maintained at the lower

diplomatic rank Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, Seating plan, t ...

of ''Minister''. The position was formally known as the ''Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America at the Court of Versailles''.

Ministers to the First Republic (1792–1804)

Diplomatic relations were broken in 1796 due to French anger at U.S. neutrality in the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...

. After the Directory refused to accept Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's credentials, a commission was appointed to negotiate with the French Republic. The members of the commission — Pinckney,

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

, and

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry ( ; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death i ...

— were all accredited with the rank of ''Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary''. French officials demanded a bribe before they would commence negotiations, scuttling the mission in the

XYZ Affair The XYZ Affair was a political and diplomatic episode in 1797 and 1798, early in the presidency of John Adams, involving a confrontation between the History of the United States (1789–1849), United States and French First Republic, Republican ...

. Hostilities culminated in the outbreak of the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...

between the U.S. and France. Diplomatic relations were restored with the

Convention of 1800 The Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine (French: ''Traité de Mortefontaine''), was signed on September 30, 1800, by the United States and France. The difference in name was due to congressional sensitivity at entering i ...

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

was accredited Minister Plenipotentiary to the French Republic in 1803 to negotiate the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

. However, Robert Livingston remained chief of mission.

Ministers to the Court of the Tuilleries (1804–1848)

Since

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

had been stripped of its furnishings during the French Revolution, Napoleon I returned the French court to its pre-1682 home at the Tuilleries. U.S. ministers to all future French monarchs would be accredited to the Tuilleries. After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

standardized the system of

s, the United States continued to send a ''Minister'', who was officially credentialed as an ''Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary''.

Ministers to the Second Republic (1848–1852)

Ministers to the Court of the Tuilleries (1852–1870)

Ministers to the Third Republic (1870–1893)

Ambassadors to the Third Republic (1893–1942)

After it became a republic, France continued to exchange ambassadors with other Great Powers. This put an end to the longstanding rule that only Great Power monarchies could exchange ambassadors with each other. As the United States grew in population and economic strength, it followed the French example. In 1893, the United States upgraded its diplomatic relations with the other Great Powers to the ambassadorial level.

Ambassadors to the Fourth Republic (1944–1961)

Ambassadors to the Fifth Republic (since 1961)

References

External links

United States Embassy in Paris official site

United States Department of State: France

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for France

Interview with 1984 U.S. Ambassador to France
from th
Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Ambassador To France

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Lists of ambassadors to France