Cape Verde had been a Portuguese colony for more than 500 years since 1456. In 1974 Portugal and the Cape Verdeans signed an agreement to form a transitional government, and Cape Verde gained full independence from Portugal on July 5, 1975.

The United States recognized Cape Verde and commissioned its first ambassador Melissa F. Wells in 1976. Ambassador Wells was concurrently accredited to Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde while resident at Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. In 1980, an embassy was established in the capital Praia with a chargé d’affaires managing the business of the embassy. Until 1980 one ambassador, resident at Bissau, was concurrently commissioned to Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.

Ambassadors

+NameTitleAppointedPresented credentialsTerminated missionNotesMelissa F. Wells – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiarySeptember 16, 1976November 18, 1976March 23, 1977Edward Marks – Career FSOSeptember 15, 1977October 18, 1977July 11, 1980 Embassy Praia was established January 28, 1978 with Howard McGowan as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. The ambassador remained in Bissau.Peter Jon de Vos – Career FSOSeptember 5, 1980September 24, 1980Left Bissau, March 30, 1983 In 1983 the first ambassador was appointed solely accredited to Cape Verde.John Melvin Yates – Career FSOMarch 18, 1983April 26, 1983May 24, 1986Vernon Dubois Penner, Jr. – Career FSOJune 16, 1986July 15, 1986November 21, 1989Francis Terry McNamara – Career FSONovember 21, 1989December 23, 1989December 31, 1992Joseph Monroe Segars – Career FSOJuly 14, 1992March 24, 1993March 17, 1996Lawrence Neal Benedict – Career FSOJune 6, 1996July 30, 1996August 11, 1999Michael D. Metelits – Career FSOJuly 7, 1999September 15, 1999July 24, 2002Donald C. Johnson – Career FSOOctober 3, 2002November 21, 2002April 4, 2005Roger D. Pierce – Career FSOJune 21, 2005September 27, 2005June 9, 2008Marianne M. Myles – Career FSOJune 6, 2008August 6, 2008August 1, 2011Dana Brown - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires ad interimAugust 1, 2011UnknownDecember 9, 2011Adrienne S. O'Neal - Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryOctober 19, 2011December 9, 2011January 31, 2015Donald Heflin - Career FSODecember 18, 2014January 31, 2015September 11, 2018Jeff Daigle - Career FSOMay 29, 2019September 10, 2019July 3, 2024Jennifer M. Adams - Career FSOMay 2, 2024September 10, 2024January 16, 2026Mark Weinberg - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires ad interimJanuary 16, 2026UnknownPresent

See also Embassy of Cape Verde in Washington, D.C. Cape Verde – United States relations Foreign relations of Cape Verde Ambassadors from the United States

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