The following is a list of United States ambassadors to Nigeria.
Ambassadors NameTitleAppointedPresented credentialsTerminated missionNotesJoseph Palmer IICommissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on February 6, 1961. - Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiarySeptember 23, 1960October 4, 1960January 16, 1964The Embassy in Lagos was established October 1, 1960. Reaccredited when Nigeria became a republic; presented new credentials December 12, 1963.Elbert G. Mathews - Career FSOMarch 10, 1964April 11, 1964July 26, 1969William Trueheart - Career FSOSeptember 19, 1969November 6, 1969September 1, 1971John Reinhardt - Career FSOSeptember 30, 1971December 3, 1971February 23, 1975Donald B. Easum - Career FSOMarch 26, 1975May 22, 1975October 15, 1979Stephen Low - Career FSOSeptember 20, 1979November 29, 1979July 4, 1981Thomas R. Pickering - Career FSOOctober 26, 1981November 30, 1981July 9, 1983Thomas W. M. Smith - Career FSOFebruary 10, 1984March 15, 1984May 5, 1986Princeton Lyman - Career FSOSeptember 12, 1986October 10, 1986July 24, 1989Lannon Walker - Career FSOOctober 10, 1989November 17, 1989July 10, 1992William L. Swing - Career FSOJune 15, 1992September 24, 1992September 22, 1993Walter Carrington - Political appointeeAugust 10, 1993November 9, 1993October 7, 1997William H. Twaddell - Career FSONovember 10, 1997December 19, 1997August 3, 2000The U.S. Embassy was transferred from Lagos to Abuja September 15, 2000.Howard Franklin Jeter - Career FSODecember 28, 2000March 3, 2001July 30, 2003John Campbell - Career FSOMay 12, 2004June 25, 2004July 19, 2007Robin R. Sanders - Career FSOOctober 29, 2007December 3, 2007August 27, 2010Terence P. McCulley - Career FSOAugust 9, 2010November 2, 2010August 29, 2013James F. Entwistle - Career FSOAugust 22, 2013November 26, 2013July 21, 2016Sworn in October 28, 2013W. Stuart Symington - Career FSOOctober 3, 2016December 1, 2016August 30, 2019Sworn in October 31, 2016Mary Beth Leonard - Career FSOSeptember 11, 2019December 24, 2019March 31, 2023Sworn in October 4, 2019David Greene - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires ad interimMarch 31, 2023June 22, 2024Richard Merrill Mills Jr. - Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMay 2, 2024July 25, 2024January 16, 2026Keith Heffern - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires ad interimJanuary 16, 2026Present
Notes
See also Nigeria – United States relations Foreign relations of Nigeria Ambassadors of the United States
References United States Department of State: Background notes on Nigeria
External links United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Nigeria United States Department of State: Nigeria United States Embassy in Abuja