List of ambassadors of the United States to Hungary

This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Hungary.

Ambassador of the United States to Hungary
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States ambassador
Incumbent Robert Palladino Chargé d'affaires[1] since March 7, 2025
Residence	Szabadság Square 12, Budapest, H-1054
Nominator	The president of the United States
Appointer	The president with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder	Ulysses Grant-Smith as Chargé d'Affaires pro tem
Formation	December 26, 1921
Website	U.S. Embassy - Budapest

Until 1867 Hungary had been part of the Austrian Empire, when the empire became Austria-Hungary. Hungary had no separate diplomatic relations with other nations. The United States had diplomatic relations with the empire and Austria-Hungary through the legation in Vienna.

The empire was dissolved following World War I, and the United States established separate diplomatic relations with Austria and Hungary in 1921, reopening the embassy in Vienna and establishing a legation in Budapest. Ulysses Grant-Smith opened the U.S. legation on December 26, 1921, and remained the chief of mission as chargé d'affaires until an ambassador was commissioned the following year.

For ambassadors to Austria-Hungary prior to the dissolution of the empire, see the list of ambassadors of the United States to Austria.

The United States Embassy in Hungary is located on Szabadság tér (Liberty Square) in the Pest part of Budapest.

Ambassadors

Name	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission	Notes
Ulysses Grant-Smith[a] – Career FSO	Chargé d'Affaires pro tem	Not commissioned	January 24, 1922	April 28, 1922
Theodore Brentano – Political appointee	Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	February 10, 1922	May 16, 1922	Presented recall, May 6, 1927
J. Butler Wright – Career FSO		February 26, 1927	June 18, 1927	Presented recall, October 24, 1930
Nicholas Roosevelt[b] – Political appointee		September 29, 1930	November 12, 1930	May 9, 1933
John Flournoy Montgomery – Political appointee		June 13, 1933	August 1, 1933	March 17, 1941
Herbert Claiborne Pell – Political appointee		February 11, 1941	May 20, 1941	January 16, 1942
Hungary severed diplomatic relations with the United States on December 11, 1941, the day the United States declared war on Germany. Hungary declared war on the United States two days later. Pell closed the legation and departed Hungary on January 16, 1942. The United States and Hungary established normal diplomatic relations again after the war ended in 1945.
H.F. Arthur Schoenfeld – Career FSO	Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	December 15, 1945	January 26, 1946	June 1, 1947
Selden Chapin[c] – Career FSO		April 10, 1947	July 9, 1947	February 17, 1949
Nathaniel P. Davis – Career FSO		September 1, 1949	October 21, 1949	May 18, 1951
Christian M. Ravndal – Career FSO		October 3, 1951	January 11, 1952	August 5, 1956
Edward T. Wailes – Career FSO		July 26, 1956	Did not present credentials	left post, February 27, 1957	Ambassador Wailes had been commissioned as ambassador during the Imre Nagy regime in Hungary, prior to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. He arrived in Hungary on November 2, 1956, shortly after the new János Kádár government had been installed. Wailes refused to present his credentials to the new government, stating that the government "did not represent the people." Shortly thereafter he was "recalled for consultations" and he left Hungary on February 27, 1957.[4]
Garret G. Ackerson Jr.	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	July 1957	Unknown	February 1961
Horace G. Torbert Jr.		February 1961		December 1962
Owen T. Jones		December 1962		July 1964
Elim O'Shaughnessy		November 1964		September 1966
Richard W. Tims		September 1966		October 1967
Martin J. Hillenbrand – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	September 13, 1967	October 30, 1967	February 15, 1969	Legation upgraded to embassy; title upgraded to "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary".
Alfred Puhan – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	May 1, 1969	June 16, 1969	July 9, 1973
Richard F. Pedersen – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 24, 1973	September 10, 1973	March 26, 1975
Eugene V. McAuliffe – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	March 25, 1975	April 28, 1975	April 15, 1976
Philip M. Kaiser – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 7, 1977	August 4, 1977	March 9, 1980
Harry E. Bergold Jr. – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	March 3, 1980	March 31, 1980	November 9, 1983
Nicolas M. Salgo – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	October 7, 1983	November 23, 1983	August 1, 1986
Robie Marcus Hooker Palmer – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 24, 1986	December 8, 1986	January 31, 1990
Charles H. Thomas – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	June 27, 1990	July 2, 1990	January 11, 1994
Donald M. Blinken – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	March 28, 1994	April 1, 1994	November 20, 1997
Peter Francis Tufo – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	November 10, 1997	December 3, 1997	March 1, 2001
Nancy Goodman Brinker – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	August 7, 2001	September 26, 2001	June 19, 2003
George H. Walker III – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	August 4, 2003	October 6, 2003	August 6, 2006
April H. Foley – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	May 30, 2006	August 18, 2006	April 2, 2009
Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	January 7, 2010	January 11, 2010	July 20, 2013
M. André Goodfriend[5]	Chargé d’Affaires ad interim	August 18, 2013	n/a	January 20, 2015
Colleen Bradley Bell – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	December 14, 2014	January 21, 2015	January 20, 2017
David Kostelancik	Chargé d’Affaires ad interim	January 20, 2017	"n/a"	June 22, 2018
David B. Cornstein – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	February 13, 2018	June 22, 2018	October 30, 2020[6]
Marc Dillard	Chargé d’Affaires ad interim	October 30, 2020	n/a	August 10, 2022
B. Bix Aliu[7]	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	August 10, 2022	n/a	September 14, 2022	Served as Chargé d'Affaires until the arrival of the appointed Ambassador, David Pressman.[8]
David Pressman – Career FSO[9]	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Aug 8, 2022[10]	September 14, 2022[11]	January 13, 2025
David Holmes	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	January 13, 2025	n/a	March 7, 2025
Robert Palladino	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	March 7, 2025	n/a	Incumbent

Notes

1. Grant-Smith was not commissioned. His letter of credence was dated December 27, 1921. He had opened the legation on December 26 and had been granted provisional recognition as Chargé d’Affaires.
2. Roosevelt was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 16, 1930.
3. Chapin was declared persona non grata by the government of Hungary on February 11, 1949, and departed Hungary on February 17. The government of Hungary had accused Chapin of conspiring with Cardinal József Mindszenty.^[2][3]