Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

had been a

Portuguese colony The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

for more than 500 years since 1456. In 1974

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and the Cape Verdeans signed an agreement to form a

transitional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

, and Cape Verde gained full

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

from Portugal on July 5, 1975. The United States recognized Cape Verde and commissioned its first

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 so ...

Melissa F. Wells Melissa Foelsch Wells (November 18, 1932 – July 12, 2025) was a diplomat and former United States Ambassador to Cape Verde and to Guinea-Bissau (1976–77), Mozambique (1987–90), Congo-Kinshasa (1991–93), and Estonia (1998–2001). She w ...

in 1976. Ambassador Wells was concurrently accredited to

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

and Cape Verde while resident at

Bissau Bissau () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administr ...

, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. In 1980, an

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, 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 ...

was established in the capital

Praia Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.chargé d’affaires Chargé () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Chargé is a small town near Amboise. The Rock 'in Chargé festival has revitalized the village sinc2006 Population The inhabitants are called ''Chargéens'' in Fre ...

managing the business of the embassy. Until 1980 one ambassador, resident at Bissau, was concurrently commissioned to

and

Ambassadors

References

Sources

U.S. Department of State: Background Notes on Cape Verde
*

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Cape Verde

United States Department of State: Cape Verde

United States Embassy in Praia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambassadors of the United States to Cape Verde

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 ...

Ambassadors

See also

References

Sources

External links