This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Albania. The ambassador is the head of the Embassy of the United States in Tirana.
History
Albania had been under the domination of the Ottoman Empire since the 14th century, but gained a shaky independence in 1912 after an uprising against the Turks. After suffering invasions and occupations during the First and Second Balkan Wars and the Great War, Albania achieved a relatively stable degree of statehood.
The United States established diplomatic relations with Albania in 1922. President Harding appointed the first U.S. Minister to Albania, Ulysses Grant-Smith, who arrived in Tirana in December 1922. The first envoys to Albania had the rank of Minister.
Albania–United States relations were broken in 1939 upon the Italian invasion of Albania just prior to the start of World War II. Relations were not restored until the downfall of Communism in Europe in 1991.
Ambassadors +#NameTitleAppointedPresented credentialsTerminated mission1Ulysses Grant-Smith – Career FSOEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiarySeptember 22, 1922December 4, 1922Left post, February 8, 19252Charles C. HartHart was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1925. – Political appointeeEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryMay 27, 1925August 1, 1925, and December 13, 1928Hart was reaccredited when Albania became a monarchy. He presented new credentials December 13, 1928Left post, December 12, 19293Herman Bernstein – Political appointeeEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryFebruary 17, 1930April 28, 1930Left post, September 24, 19334Post WheelerWheeler was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 15, 1934. – Career FSOEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryAugust 26, 1933November 28, 1933Left post, November 1, 19345Hugh Gladney Grant – Political appointeeEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryAugust 9, 1935November 8, 1935Left post, September 27, 1939 Italian forces occupied Tirana on April 8, 1939, which effectively brought an end to the U.S. mission to Albania. The U.S. legation was officially closed on September 16, 1939. The United States resumed diplomatic relations with Albania on March 15, 1991. Embassy Tirana was opened October 1, 1991, with Christopher R. Hill as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. The previous legation was raised to embassy status, and the envoys would henceforth have the rank of Ambassador.6William Edwin Ryerson – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryDecember 2, 1991December 21, 1991Left post, October 13, 19947Joseph Edward Lake – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 5, 1994October 17, 1994Left post, March 15, 19968Marisa R. Lino – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 2, 1996September 4, 1996May 20, 19999Joseph Limprecht – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 7, 1999September 8, 1999Died in northern Albania, May 19, 2002Obituary, The New York Times. May 21, 2002Obituary. Los Angeles Times. May 21, 200210James Franklin Jeffrey – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryOctober 3, 2002October 22, 2002May 2, 200411Marcie B. Ries – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryOctober 18, 2004October 30, 2004June 16, 200712John L. Withers, II – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJune 28, 2007August 29, 2007November 10, 201013Alexander Arvizu – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 1, 2010December 6, 2010January 11, 201514Donald Lu – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryDecember 16, 2014January 13, 2015September 19, 2018 -Leyla Moses-Ones - Career FSO NOTE: Nominee Kathleen Ann Kavalec is awaiting Senate confirmation as new Ambassador to Albania, www.state.gov/m/dghr/coc/284673.htm (Dec. 2018)Chargé d'Affaires a.i.September 19, 2018January 27, 202015Yuri Kim - Career General Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryNovember 21, 2019January 27, 2020June 25, 2023 -Damian Smith - Career FSO Chargé d'Affaires a.i.June 26, 2023August 1, 2023 -H. Martin McDowell - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires a.i.August 1, 2023August 18, 2023 -David Wisner - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires a.i.August 18, 2023August 2, 2024 -Nancy VanHorn - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires a.i.August 2, 2024September 24, 202616Eric Wendt – Political appointeeAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryAugust 7, 2026September 26, 2026Incumbent
Notes
See also Embassy of the United States, Tirana Albania – United States relations Foreign relations of Albania Ambassadors of the United States
References United States Department of State: Background notes on Albania
External links United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Albania United States Department of State: Albania United States Embassy in Tirana