List of ambassadors of the United States to France

(Redirected from United States Ambassador to France) Representatives of Washington's diplomatic mission in Paris

Ambassador of the United States of America to France Ambassadeur des États-Unis en France
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Denise Bauer since February 5, 2022
Residence	Hôtel de Pontalba
Nominator	The President of the United States
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder	Benjamin Franklin as Envoy
Formation	1778
Website	U.S. Embassy – Paris

The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. 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 of Minister. The position was formally known as the Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America at the Court of Versailles.

	Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Notes
Benjamin Franklin	September 14, 1778	March 23, 1779	May 17, 1785	Franklin had represented the United States unofficially since December 1776, prior to France recognizing American Independence.
Thomas Jefferson	March 10, 1785	May 17, 1785	September 26, 1789
William Short	April 20, 1790	June 14, 1790	May 15, 1792
Gouverneur Morris	January 12, 1792	June 3, 1792	April 9, 1794	Remained as Minister after the First Republic was proclaimed. Mission terminated when the French government requested his recall.

Ministers to the First Republic (1792–1804)

Name		Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Notes
	James Monroe	May 28, 1794	August 15, 1794	December 9, 1796
	Charles C. Pinckney	September 9, 1796	Not presented	February 5, 1797

Diplomatic relations were broken in 1796 due to French anger at U.S. neutrality in the War of the First Coalition. 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, and Elbridge Gerry — 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. Hostilities culminated in the outbreak of the Quasi-War between the U.S. and France. Diplomatic relations were restored with the Convention of 1800.

Name		Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Notes
	Robert R. Livingston	October 2, 1801	December 6, 1801	November 18, 1804	Remained as Minister after Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed emperor.

James Monroe was accredited Minister Plenipotentiary to the French Republic in 1803 to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. However, Robert Livingston remained chief of mission.

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

Since Versailles 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 standardized the system of diplomatic ranks, the United States continued to send a Minister, who was officially credentialed as an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.

	Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Notes
John Armstrong	June 30, 1804	November 18, 1804	September 14, 1810
Joel Barlow	February 27, 1811	November 17, 1811	December 26, 1812	Died in Żarnowiec during the French retreat from Moscow.
William H. Crawford	April 9, 1813	December 14, 1813 August 16, 1814	April 26, 1815 to April 30, 1815
Albert Gallatin	February 28, 1815	July 16, 1816	May 16, 1823
James Brown	December 9, 1823	April 13, 1824	June 28, 1829
William Cabell Rives	April 18, 1829	October 25, 1829 January 14, 1831	September 27, 1832
Edward Livingston	May 29, 1833	September 30, 1833	April 29, 1835
Lewis Cass	October 4, 1836	December 1, 1836	November 12, 1842
William R. King	April 9, 1844	July 1, 1844	September 15, 1846
Richard Rush	March 3, 1847	July 31, 1847 April 26, 1848	October 8, 1849	Reaccredited to the Second Republic.

Ministers to the Second Republic (1848–1852)

Name		Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Notes
	William Cabell Rives	July 20, 1849	November 8, 1849 January 10, 1853	May 12, 1853	Reaccredited to the Second Empire.

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

	Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Notes
John Y. Mason	October 10, 1853	January 22, 1854	October 3, 1859	Died at post.
Charles J. Faulkner	January 16, 1860	March 4, 1860	May 12, 1861	Sided with the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
William L. Dayton	March 18, 1861	May 19, 1861	December 1, 1864	Died at post.
John Bigelow	March 15, 1865	April 23, 1865	December 23, 1866
John Adams Dix	September 24, 1866	December 23, 1866	May 23, 1869
Elihu B. Washburne	March 17, 1869	March 23, 1869 May 8, 1871	September 5, 1877	Reaccredited to the Third Republic.

Ministers to the Third Republic (1870–1893)

	Appointment	Presentation	Termination
Edward F. Noyes	July 1, 1877	September 5, 1877	August 5, 1881
Levi P. Morton	March 21, 1881	August 5, 1881	May 14, 1885
Robert M. McLane	March 23, 1885	May 14, 1885	May 20, 1889
Whitelaw Reid	March 23, 1889	May 21, 1889	March 25, 1892
T. Jefferson Coolidge	May 12, 1892	June 10, 1892	May 4, 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.

	Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Notes
James B. Eustis	April 8, 1893	May 6, 1893	May 24, 1897
Horace Porter	March 19, 1897	May 26, 1897	May 2, 1905
Robert S. McCormick	March 8, 1905	May 2, 1905	March 2, 1907
Henry White	December 19, 1906	March 23, 1907	November 3, 1909
Robert Bacon	December 21, 1909	December 31, 1909	April 19, 1912
Myron T. Herrick	February 15, 1912	April 29, 1912	November 28, 1914
William Graves Sharp	June 19, 1914	December 4, 1914	April 14, 1919
Hugh Campbell Wallace	February 27, 1919	April 22, 1919	July 5, 1921
Myron T. Herrick	April 16, 1921	July 15, 1921	March 31, 1929	Died at post.
Walter Evans Edge	November 21, 1929	December 18, 1929	April 13, 1933
Jesse I. Straus	March 17, 1933	June 8, 1933	August 5, 1936
William C. Bullitt Jr.	August 25, 1936	October 13, 1936	July 11, 1940
William D. Leahy	November 29, 1940	January 8, 1941	May 1, 1942	Departed Vichy France; S. Pinkney Tuck served as interim chargé d'affaires until France severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. on November 8, 1942.

Ambassadors to the Fourth Republic (1944–1961)

	Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Notes
Jefferson Caffery	November 25, 1944	December 30, 1944	May 13, 1949	The Embassy in Paris had been opened to the public December 1, 1944, with Ambassador Caffery in charge pending presentation of his letter of credence.
David K. E. Bruce	May 9, 1949	May 17, 1949	March 10, 1952
James Clement Dunn	March 13, 1952	March 27, 1952	March 2, 1953
C. Douglas Dillon	February 27, 1953	March 13, 1953	January 28, 1957
Amory Houghton	March 14, 1957	April 17, 1957	January 19, 1961

Ambassadors to the Fifth Republic (1961–present)

	Appointment	Presentation	Termination	Notes
James M. Gavin	February 22, 1961	March 21, 1961	September 26, 1962
Charles E. Bohlen	September 4, 1962	October 27, 1962	February 9, 1968
Sargent Shriver	April 22, 1968	May 25, 1968	March 25, 1970
Arthur K. Watson	April 8, 1970	May 6, 1970	October 30, 1972
John N. Irwin II	February 2, 1973	March 23, 1973	October 20, 1974
Kenneth Rush	September 19, 1974	November 21, 1974	March 14, 1977
Arthur A. Hartman	June 8, 1977	July 7, 1977	October 14, 1981
Evan G. Galbraith	November 6, 1981	December 2, 1981	July 15, 1985
Joe M. Rodgers	July 19, 1985	September 20, 1985	January 8, 1989
Walter Curley	May 12, 1989	July 6, 1989	February 11, 1993
Pamela Harriman	May 8, 1993	June 30, 1993	February 5, 1997	Died at post.
Felix Rohatyn	August 1, 1997	September 11, 1997	December 7, 2000
Howard H. Leach	July 12, 2001	September 4, 2001	April 16, 2005
Craig Roberts Stapleton	June 21, 2005	July 25, 2005	January 29, 2009	Also accredited to Monaco.
Charles Rivkin	June 1, 2009	October 2, 2009	November 20, 2013	Also accredited to Monaco.
Jane D. Hartley	September 26, 2014	October 31, 2014	January 20, 2017	Also accredited to Monaco.
Jamie McCourt	November 20, 2017	December 18, 2017	January 20, 2021	Also accredited to Monaco.
Denise Bauer	December 18, 2021	February 5, 2022	Incumbent	Also accredited to Monaco.

References

Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth; Gerry, Elbridge; Marshall, John (1798). Authentic Copies of the Correspondence of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry, Esqrs. Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary to the Republic of France: As Presented to Both Houses of Congress, April 3, 1798, by His Excellency John Adams. J. Derrett. p. 62. The undersigned Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the French Republic, had the honour of announcing to you officially, on the 6th of October, their arrival at Paris, and of presenting to you on the 8th, a copy of their letters of credence.
"Image 906 of James Monroe Papers: Series 1, General Correspondence, 1758-1839; 1796 Mar. 22-1803 Oct. 8 (Reel 2)". The Library of Congress.

This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.

External links

v t e United States ambassadors to France
Envoys to France (1776–1779)	Franklin, Lee & Deane/Adams
Ministers Plenipotentiary to France (1778–1815)	Franklin Jefferson Short Morris Monroe Pinckney Livingston Armstrong Russell (chargé d'affaires) Barlow Crawford
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to France (1816–1893)	Gallatin Brown Rives Harris (chargé d'affaires) Livingston Barton (chargé d'affaires) Cass King Rush Rives Mason Faulkner Dayton Bigelow Dix Washburne Noyes Morton McLane Reid Coolidge
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France (1893–present)	Eustis Porter McCormick White Bacon Herrick Sharp Wallace Herrick Edge Straus Bullitt Leahy Tuck (chargé d'affaires) Caffery Bruce Dunn Dillon Houghton Gavin Bohlen Shriver Watson Irwin Rush Hartman Galbraith Rodgers Curley Harriman Rohatyn Leach Stapleton Rivkin Hartley McCourt Bauer

v t e Ambassadors of the United States
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v t e Benjamin Franklin
President of Pennsylvania (1785–1788) Ambassador to France (1779–1785) Second Continental Congress (1775–1776)
Founding of the United States	Join, or Die. (1754 political cartoon) Albany Plan of Union Albany Congress Hutchinson letters affair Committee of Secret Correspondence Committee of Five "...to be self-evident" Declaration of Independence Model Treaty Franco-American alliance Treaty of Amity and Commerce Treaty of Alliance Staten Island Peace Conference 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution Libertas Americana Treaty of Paris, 1783 Delegate, 1787 Constitutional Convention Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Postmaster General Founding Fathers
Inventions, other events	Franklin's electrostatic machine Bifocals Franklin stove Glass armonica Gulf Stream exploration, naming, and chart Lightning rod Kite experiment Pay it forward Associators 111th Infantry Regiment Junto club American Philosophical Society Library Company of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Hospital Academy and College of Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Contributionship Union Fire Company Early American currency Continental Currency dollar coin Fugio cent United States Postal Service Street lighting President, Pennsylvania Abolition Society Master, Les Neuf Sœurs Gravesite
Writings	The Papers of Benjamin Franklin Founders Online Silence Dogood letters (1722) A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain (1725) The Busy-Body columns (1729) The Pennsylvania Gazette (1729–1790) Early American publishers and printers Poor Richard's Almanack (1732–1758) The Drinker's Dictionary (1737) "Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress" (1745) "The Speech of Polly Baker" (1747) Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc. (1751) Experiments and Observations on Electricity (1751) Birch letters (1755) The Way to Wealth (1758) Pennsylvania Chronicle (1767) Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One (1773) Proposed alliance with the Iroquois (1775) A Letter to a Royal Academy (1781) Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America (1784) "The Morals of Chess" (1786) An Address to the Public (1789) A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks (1789) The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1771–1790, pub. 1791) Bagatelles and Satires (pub. 1845) Franklin as a journalist Franklin's phonetic alphabet
Legacy	Bibliography Franklin Court Benjamin Franklin House Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology Benjamin Franklin Parkway Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Franklin Institute awards medal Benjamin Franklin Medal Royal Society of Arts medal Depicted in The Apotheosis of Washington Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Treaty of Paris (1783 painting) Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky (1816 painting) Revolutionary War Door Boston statue Chicago statue Columbus, Ohio, statue University of Pennsylvania statue Portland, Oregon, statue San Francisco statue Stanford University statue Washington D.C. statue Jefferson Memorial pediment Refunding Certificate Franklin half dollar One-hundred-dollar bill Franklin silver dollar Washington–Franklin stamps other stamps Cities, counties, schools named for Franklin Benjamin Franklin College Franklin Field Mount Franklin State of Franklin Sons of Ben (Philadelphia Union) Ships named USS Franklin Ben Franklin effect
In popular culture	Ben and Me (1953 short) Ben Franklin in Paris (1964 musical play) 1776 (1969 musical 1972 film) Benjamin Franklin (miniseries) (1972) A More Perfect Union (1989 film) Liberty! (1997 documentary series) Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series) Benjamin Franklin (2002 documentary series) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Sons of Liberty (2015 miniseries) Benjamin Franklin (2022 documentary) Franklin (2024 miniseries)
Related	Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment The New-England Courant The American Museum magazine American Revolution patriots Syng inkstand
Family	Deborah Read (wife) William Franklin (son) Francis Franklin (son) Sarah Franklin Bache (daughter) William Franklin (grandson) Benjamin F. Bache (grandson) Louis F. Bache (grandson) Richard Bache Jr. (grandson) Andrew Harwood (great-grandson) Alexander Bache (great-grandson) Josiah Franklin (father) James Franklin (brother) Jane Mecom (sister) Mary Morrell Folger (grandmother) Peter Folger (grandfather) Richard Bache (son-in-law) Ann Smith Franklin (sister-in-law)
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v t e Thomas Jefferson
3rd President of the United States (1801–1809) 2nd Vice President of the United States (1797–1801) 1st United States Secretary of State (1790–1793) U.S. Minister to France (1785–1789) Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation (1783–1784) 2nd Governor of Virginia (1779–1781) Delegate to the Second Continental Congress (1775–1776) Delegate, Fifth Virginia Convention (1776)
Founding documents of the United States	A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774) Olive Branch Petition (1775) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (1775) Declaration of Independence (1776) Committee of Five physical history "All men are created equal" "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" "Consent of the governed" Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786) Land Ordinance of 1784 Land Ordinance of 1785
French Revolution	Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)
Presidency	Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Empire of Liberty Dunbar and Hunter Expedition Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake–Leopard affair Non-Intercourse Act First Barbary War Native American policy Burr conspiracy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses 1801 1802 1805 Cabinet Federal judicial appointments
Other noted accomplishments	Early life and career Franco-American alliance Founder, University of Virginia history Ratification Day Anti-Administration party Democratic-Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy Coinage, Weights, and Measures report (1790) Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice (1801) Jefferson disk Swivel chair Megalonyx
Jeffersonian architecture	Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Jefferson Hall Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades
Other writings	The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Notes on the State of Virginia (1785) Pyratical states of Barbary proposals (1786) European journey memorandums (1787) Indian removal letters The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (c. 1819) Jefferson manuscript collection Founders Online
Related	American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society Founding Fathers of the United States Historical reputation Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Sally Hemings Jefferson–Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state Tufton Farm Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia) Virginia dynasty Ward republic
Elections	Presidential elections 1796 1800 1804
Legacy and memorials	Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Jefferson River Jefferson Territory Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Statues Karl Bitter Louisville University of Virginia David d'Angers Jefferson Literary and Debating Society Thomas Jefferson Foundation Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Peaks and mountains Jefferson Rock Other placenames Jefferson–Jackson Day Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two-dollar bill Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar 250th Anniversary silver dollar U.S. postage stamps
Cultural depictions	The Patriots (1946 play) 1776 1969 musical 1972 film Jefferson in Paris (1995 film) Thomas Jefferson (1997 film) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Jefferson's Garden (2015 play) Hamilton (2015 musical) Wine bottles controversy Cultural depictions of Sally Hemings
Family	Martha Jefferson (wife) Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter) Mary Jefferson Eppes (daughter) Harriet Hemings (daughter) Madison Hemings (son) Eston Hemings (son) Thomas J. Randolph (grandson) George W. Randolph (grandson) Ellen Randolph Coolidge (granddaughter) Cornelia Jefferson Randolph (granddaughter) Francis Eppes (grandson) John Wayles Jefferson (grandson) Sarah N. Randolph (great-granddaughter) T. Jefferson Coolidge (great-grandson) Frederick Madison Roberts (great-grandson) Peter Jefferson (father) Jane Randolph Jefferson (mother) Lucy Jefferson Lewis (sister) Randolph Jefferson (brother) Peter Carr (nephew) Samuel Carr (nephew) Dabney Carr (nephew) Dabney S. Carr (grand-nephew) Isham Randolph (grandfather) William Randolph (great-grandfather) Henry Soane (2nd great-grandfather)
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v t e Gouverneur Morris
United States Senator, New York, 1800–1803 Minister to the Court of Versailles, 1792–1794 Second Continental Congress, 1778–1779
United States Founding events	Signed, Articles of Confederation New York Constitution (1777) Wrote, Preamble to the United States Constitution Co-wrote, signed, United States Constitution
Namesakes	Town of Gouverneur, New York Village of Gouverneur, New York SS Gouverneur Morris
Related	Founding Fathers Gouverneur Morris, Jr. (son) Lewis Morris (father) Lewis Morris (brother) Staats Long Morris (brother) Richard Morris (brother) Lewis Morris (grandfather) A More Perfect Union (1989 film)

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