The United States ambassador to Somalia is the most senior diplomatic representative 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 ...

federal government assigned to

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. From 2015 to 2018 the U.S. maintained a non-resident diplomatic mission in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

for Somalia and its constituent

autonomous regions An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree o ...

. In January 2013, a senior American government official indicated that the United States could eventually reopen its embassy in

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

, which had closed in the early 1990s. In June 2014, the U.S. State Department also announced that it would soon name a new ambassador to Somalia. In February 2015, the U.S. government nominated its first official ambassador since 1991. In December 2018, the mission returned to Mogadishu.

Overview

Diplomatic relations between the

and

started in 1960, when the Somali Republic gained independence. The U.S. immediately recognized the Somali government and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The American

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 ...

in Somalia's capital

was established on July 1, 1960, with Andrew G. Lynch as

Chargé d'Affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

''ad interim''. He was promoted to ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary'' four days later on July 5, 1960. After the collapse of the

Siad Barre Mohammed Siad Barre (, Osmanya script: , ''Muhammad Ziād Barīy''; 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 Janu ...

regime and the start of the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in the early 1990s, the U.S. embassy closed down. However, the American government never formally severed

diplomatic ties Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

with Somalia. The United States maintained a regular dialogue with the reconstituted Somali central government through a special

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of Diplomatic rank#Special envoy, diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an au ...

based in the

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

n capital,

, before reopening its Mission to Somalia in 2013. In January 2013, the U.S. announced that it was set to exchange diplomatic notes with the new

Federal Government of Somalia The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS; , DFS; ) is the internationally recognised government of Somalia, and the longest running attempt to create a central government in Somalia since the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic in 1991. It ...

, re-establishing official ties with the country for the first time in 20 years. According to the

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 ...

, the decision was made in recognition of the significant progress that the Somali authorities had achieved on both the political and war fronts. A senior American government official also indicated after the announcement that the United States could eventually reopen its embassy in Mogadishu. Since the reopening of the U.S. Mission to Somalia in fall of 2013, the United States has continued to be represented in Somalia by a special envoy based in Nairobi and titled a

Special Representative 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, table seating ...

. On August 26, 2013, the US appointed James P. McAnulty as its Special Representative to Somalia. In 2014,

U.S. President 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 ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

nominated

Katherine Dhanani Katherine Simonds Dhanani is an American diplomat. She was nominated as the Ambassador of the United States to Somalia, having been nominated for the position on 25 February 2015 by U.S. President Barack Obama. Dhanani is the first official U.S. ...

to become the first U.S. Ambassador to Somalia since the U.S. closed its embassy there in 1991, but she later withdrew from the nomination process for personal reasons. In June 2016,

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...

was sworn in as the first U.S. ambassador to Somalia in a quarter century. Schwartz's appointment came a year after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Mogadishu. Schwartz resigned on September 29, 2017. President Donald J. Trump nominated

Donald Yamamoto Donald Yukio Yamamoto (born 1953) is an American diplomat who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to Somalia, United States ambassador to Somalia from 2018 to 2021. Before that he was the acting Assistant Secretary of State fo ...

as the United States Ambassador to Somalia. Mr. Yamamoto was appointed on October 19, 2018. On April 15, 2021, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

nominated Larry André Jr. to be the next United States Ambassador to Somalia. On December 18, 2021, the United States Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote and he presented his credentials on February 7, 2022.

Ambassadors

References

;Specific ;General
United States Department of State: Background notes on Somalia
*

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Somalia

United States Department of State: Somalia

United States Virtual Presence Post in Somalia
{{Ambassadors of the United States, state=collapsed

Overview

Ambassadors

See also

References

External links