This is a list of United States ambassadors to Laos. The United States established full diplomatic relations with Laos in 1955, following its full independence from France in 1954.
On December 29, 1961, during the Laotian Civil War, President John F. Kennedy made the Ambassador to Laos the de facto commander of U.S. military and paramilitary operations within the Kingdom of Laos for the length of the war.Castle, pp. 1–2.
Accounting for American personnel missing in Laos and clearing unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the wars in Indochina were the initial focuses of the post-1975 bilateral relationship. Since that time the relationship has broadened to include cooperation on a range of issues including counter-narcotics, health, child nutrition, environmental sustainability, trade liberalization, and English language training. This expansion in cooperation has accelerated since 2009, with the launch of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), which serves as a platform to address complex, transnational development and policy changes in the Lower Mekong sub-region. The United States and Laos share a commitment to ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future for the Mekong sub-region. In July 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Laos, marking the first visit by a Secretary of State since 1955.
A large part of U.S. bilateral assistance to Laos is devoted to improving health and child nutrition. The United States also helps improve trade policy in Laos, promotes sustainable development and biodiversity conservation, and works to strengthen the criminal justice system and law enforcement. The United States has provided significant support for clearance of UXO from the war, particularly cluster munitions, as well as for risk education and victims’ assistance.
Ambassadors ImageNamePresentation of credentialsTermination of missionCommentPaul L. Guest August 1950 December 1950 ad interimDonald R. Heath December 29, 1950 November 1, 1954 Resident at SaigonCharles Yost November 1, 1954 April 27, 1956 J. Graham Parsons October 12, 1956 February 8, 1958 Horace H. Smith April 9, 1958 June 21, 1960 Winthrop G. Brown July 25, 1960 June 28, 1962 Leonard S. Unger July 25, 1962 December 1, 1964 William H. Sullivan December 23, 1964 March 18, 1969 G. McMurtrie Godley July 24, 1969 April 23, 1973 Charles S. Whitehouse September 20, 1973 April 12, 1975 Thomas J. CorcoranAugust 1975 March 1978 ad interimGeorge B. Roberts, Jr. March 1978 September 1979 ad interimLeo J. Moser September 1979 October 1981 ad interimWilliam W. Thomas, Jr. November 1981 November 1983 ad interimTheresa Anne Tull November 1983 August 1986 ad interimHarriet W. Isom August 1986 August 1989 ad interimCharles B. Salmon, Jr. August 1989 July 26, 1993 ad interim August 1989-August 1992, Ambassador August 6, 1992 – July 26, 1993 Victor L. Tomseth January 8, 1994August 20, 1996Wendy Chamberlin September 5, 1996June 14, 1999Douglas A. Hartwick September 18, 2001April 21, 2004Patricia M. Haslach September 4, 2004 March 26, 2007Ravic R. Huso June 22, 2007 August 22, 2010 Karen B. StewartNovember 16, 2010August 8, 2013Daniel A. CluneSeptember 16, 2013September 21, 2016Rena BitterNovember 2, 2016January 26, 2020Peter HaymondFebruary 7, 2020September 1, 2023Michelle Y. OutlawSeptember 1, 2023February 6, 2024ad interimHeather VariavaFebruary 6, 2024January 16, 2026Michelle Y. OutlawJanuary 16, 2026Presentad interim
See also Laos – United States relations Foreign relations of Laos Ambassadors of the United States
Notes
References Castle, Timothy N. (1993). At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: U.S. Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government 1955–1975. .
External links United States Department of State: Background notes on Laos
United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Laos United States Department of State: Laos United States Embassy in Vientiane