List of ambassadors of the United States to Mozambique

Mozambique was an overseas possession of Portugal until 1975. On June 25, 1975, Portugal granted independence to Mozambique, much later than other European nations had freed their own African possessions.

Ambassador of the United States to Mozambique
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States ambassador
Incumbent Abigail L. Dressel Chargé d'affaires since August 11, 2025[1]
Nominator	The president of the United States
Appointer	The president with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder	Willard Ames De Pree as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Formation	February 4, 1976
Website	Ambassador to Mozambique

The United States immediately recognized the new nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. An embassy in the capital Maputo (then named Lourenço Marques) was opened November 8, 1975, with Johnnie Carson as chargé d’affaires ad interim. On February 4, 1976, Ambassador Willard Ames De Pree was appointed as the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Mozambique.

Ambassadors

Name	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission	Notes
Willard Ames De Pree – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	February 4, 1976	April 16, 1976	July 7, 1980
William H. Twaddell	Chargé d’Affaires ad interim	July 7, 1980	-	September 23, 1983
Peter Jon de Vos – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	September 23, 1983	November 4, 1983	February 12, 1987
Melissa Foelsch Wells – Career FSO[2]	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	September 11, 1987	September 26, 1987	October 12, 1990
Townsend B. Friedman, Jr. – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	August 6, 1990	November 10, 1990	September 15, 1993
Dennis C. Jett – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 16, 1993	November 17, 1993	July 20, 1996
P. Michael McKinley	Chargé d’Affaires ad interim	July 20, 1996	-	December 3, 1997
Brian D. Curran – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	October 24, 1997	December 3, 1997	June 21, 2000
Sharon P. Wilkinson – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	September 15, 2000	October 25, 2000	July 21, 2003
Helen R. Meagher La Lime – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	April 16, 2003	September 3, 2003	June 21, 2006
Todd C. Chapman	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	July 2007	-	January 2010[3]
Leslie V. Rowe - Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	December 29, 2009	February 10, 2010	March 1, 2012
Douglas M. Griffiths - Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	July 5, 2012	August 8, 2012	December 28, 2015
H. Dean Pittman - Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	November 23, 2015	February 18, 2016	December 21, 2018
Dennis Walter Hearne - Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	January 31, 2019[4]	April 3, 2019[5]	January 19, 2022
Peter H. Vrooman - Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	December 18, 2021	March 3, 2022	May 29, 2025
Jeremy Neitzke - Career FSO	Chargé d’Affaires ad interim	May 30, 2025		August 11, 2025
Abigail L. Dressel - Career FSO	Chargé d’Affaires ad interim	August 11, 2025		Incumbent

See also

• Mozambique – United States relations
• Foreign relations of Mozambique
• Ambassadors of the United States