List of ambassadors of the United States to Tanzania

The present country of Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, was created upon the union of the formerly independent countries of Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar (PRZ).

Ambassador of the United States to Tanzania
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States ambassador
Incumbent Andrew Lentz Chargé d'affaires since January 15, 2025
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	William K. Leonhart as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Formation	August 22, 1962
Website	US Embassy - Dar es Salaam

Tanganyika became independent from the United Kingdom (UK) on December 9, 1961. The United States (US) immediately recognized the new nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The US embassy in Dar es Salaam opened on the day of Tanganyika's independence. William R. Duggan served as the chargé d'affaires ad interim pending the appointment of an ambassador.

The Sultanate of Zanzibar became independent from the UK on December 19, 1963, as a constitutional monarchy headed by its sultan. The US established an embassy in Zanzibar on December 10, 1963, with Frederick P. Picard III serving as chargé d'affaires ad interim. In January 1964, the sultan was overthrown and the PRZ was established.

On April 26, 1964, Tanganyika united with the PRZ to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar (U.R.T.Z.). The US ambassador to Tanganyika, William K. Leonhart, immediately became the ambassador to the URTZ. A US ambassador to the PRZ had not yet been appointed when that country united with Tanganyika. In lieu of an ambassador, Frank C. Carlucci III was serving as the chargé d'affaires ad interim and continued in that capacity until the US embassy was downgraded to a consulate general on June 27, 1964.

The country was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania on October 29, 1964.

The US did not have an ambassador to Tanzania from October 2016 to August 2020.^[1]

Ambassadors

Name and status	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission	Notes
William K. Leonhart – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	August 22, 1962	October 3, 1962	December 22, 1965	Leonhart was originally commissioned to Tanganyika. He was recommissioned when Tanganyika became a republic and presented new credentials on December 17, 1962. Leonhart continued to serve without further reaccreditation after the formation of the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
John H. Burns – Career FSO		September 24, 1965	January 3, 1966	June 22, 1969
Claude G. Ross – Career FSO		October 9, 1969	December 27, 1969	June 25, 1972
W. Beverly Carter, Jr. – Career FSO		June 27, 1972	July 24, 1972	October 14, 1975
James W. Spain – Career FSO		November 20, 1975	January 8, 1976	August 21, 1979
Richard Noyes Viets – Career FSO		September 28, 1979	October 18, 1979	May 16, 1981
David Charles Miller, Jr. – Political appointee		October 26, 1981	November 4, 1981	February 28, 1984
John William Shirley[2] – Career FSO		June 28, 1984	July 28, 1984	July 18, 1986
Donald K. Petterson – Career FSO		October 16, 1986	December 8, 1986	December 26, 1989
Edmund DeJarnette, Jr. – Career FSO		November 21, 1989	February 26, 1990	September 12, 1992
Peter Jon de Vos – Career FSO		June 15, 1992	January 8, 1993	June 3, 1994
J. Brady Anderson – Political appointee		August 26, 1994	September 13, 1994	October 7, 1997
Charles Richard Stith – Political appointee		June 29, 1998	September 17, 1998	January 20, 2001
Robert V. Royall – Political appointee		November 5, 2001	December 19, 2001	November 21, 2003	The post was vacant from November 2003 until August 2005. Michael S. Owen served as chargé d'affaires ad interim during that time.
Michael Retzer – Political appointee		August 24, 2005	March 9, 2005	August 31, 2007
Mark Andrew Green – Political appointee		August 23, 2007	September 13, 2007	January 20, 2009
Alfonso E. Lenhardt – Political appointee		November 12, 2009	November 12, 2009	October 9, 2013
Mark B. Childress – Political appointee		April 7, 2014	May 22, 2014	October 25, 2016
Donald J. Wright – Political appointee		February 14, 2020	August 2, 2020	January 11, 2023
Michael Battle - Political appointee		December 13, 2022	February 27, 2023	January 15, 2025
Andrew Lentz - Career FSO	Chargé d'affaires ad interim	January 15, 2025		Incumbent

See also

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