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| Ambassadors of the United States to the United Nations | |
|---|---|
| Office name | United States Ambassador to the United Nations |
| Insigniacaption | United States Department of State |
| Incumbent | Linda Thomas‑Greenfield |
| Incumbentsince | 2021 |
| Style | His/Her Excellency |
| Seat | United Nations Headquarters |
| Nominator | President of the United States |
| Appointer | President of the United States |
| Formation | 1945 |
| Inaugural | Edward Stettinius Jr. |
Ambassadors of the United States to the United Nations serve as the United States' principal representatives to the United Nations and its principal organs, including the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, and the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The office links U.S. foreign policy-making entities such as the White House, the United States Department of State, and the United States Congress with multilateral diplomacy involving member states such as China, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Holders coordinate with international organizations including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Health Organization, and United Nations Children's Fund.
The ambassador represents U.S. interests before United Nations General Assembly debates, United Nations Security Council resolutions, and specialized agencies like United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and International Labour Organization, while engaging counterparts from Brazil, India, Japan, Canada, and Mexico. Responsibilities include negotiating resolutions with envoys from countries such as South Africa and Turkey, briefing officials in the United States Congress and the National Security Council, and coordinating sanctions with bodies like the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The office liaises with multilateral envoys from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Iran, and Pakistan and works with civil society actors including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and International Crisis Group.
The post originated with delegates such as Edward Stettinius Jr. during the founding United Nations Conference on International Organization and evolved through Cold War confrontations involving Soviet Union, NATO, and the Warsaw Pact. During the 1950s and 1960s ambassadors engaged in crises like the Suez Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, coordinating with leaders such as Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. Later decades saw involvement in peacekeeping debates over Korean Peninsula, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Rwanda, interacting with figures including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Post‑9/11 priorities shifted toward counterterrorism and climate diplomacy alongside bodies like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, involving presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Nomination comes from the President of the United States and confirmation requires advice and consent of the United States Senate, with oversight hearings before the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Nominees often include current or former officials from the United States Department of State, former members of United States Congress, retired generals from the United States Army or United States Air Force, and diplomats from the Foreign Service Institute. The process may involve interactions with senators such as Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Robert Menendez, and James Risch and can be influenced by interest groups including Council on Foreign Relations and American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The office has been held by a succession of diplomats and political appointees including Edward Stettinius Jr., Paul Nitze, Adlai Stevenson II, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., Arthur Goldberg, George H. W. Bush, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Richard Holbrooke, Jeane Kirkpatrick, and John R. Bolton, as well as career diplomats such as Lester B. Pearson‑style internationalists and others who interfaced with leaders like Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford. Contemporary holders include Linda Thomas‑Greenfield, Nikki Haley, and Susan Rice. The list reflects interactions with multilateral initiatives such as UN Peacekeeping, Sustainable Development Goals, and Human Rights Council.
Notable envoys include Adlai Stevenson II during the Cuban Missile Crisis and confrontations with Nikita Khrushchev, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. during the early Cold War, Jeane Kirkpatrick in the 1980s during debates over Nicaragua and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke involved in Bosnia and Herzegovina diplomacy, Samantha Power active on issues like Darfur and humanitarian intervention, Susan Rice during the Libya intervention and Syrian crisis, and John R. Bolton for his advocacy concerning Iraq War legacies and skepticism toward multilateral institutions. Ambassadors have worked with Secretaries of State such as Dean Acheson, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, and Antony Blinken, and engaged with UN Secretaries‑General including Trygve Lie, Dag Hammarskjöld, Kofi Annan, and António Guterres.
The ambassador mediates U.S. policy on sanctions targeting North Korea, arms control treaties like the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, peace processes in Israel–Palestine conflict, and developmental agendas such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The role requires coordination with United States Agency for International Development, Defense Intelligence Agency, and allies in G7 and QUAD while addressing mandates from International Criminal Court debates and cooperation with regional organizations like the African Union and Organization of American States.
The Permanent Mission to the UN comprises the ambassador, deputy ambassadors, military and legal advisers drawn from United States Department of Defense and United States Department of Justice, policy officers from the United States Department of State, and specialists on health and development collaborating with World Health Organization and United Nations Development Programme. The mission maintains liaison with foreign missions from China, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and Brazil and works with international civil servants in offices of the Secretary‑General and the President of the General Assembly. Staff roles include political affairs, economic affairs, legal counsel, public diplomacy, and peacekeeping coordination, interfacing routinely with NGOs like International Rescue Committee and Doctors Without Borders.
Category:United States Ambassadors to the United Nations