List of ambassadors of the United States to Vietnam

The United States ambassador to Vietnam (Đại sứ Hoa Kỳ tại Việt Nam or formally Đại sứ đặc mệnh toàn quyền Hợp chúng quốc Hoa Kỳ tại Việt Nam, 'Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the United States of America in Vietnam') is the chief American diplomat to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After the First Indochina War and the defeat of the French domination over Vietnam, the country was split into North and South Vietnam (the Republic of Vietnam) at the Geneva Conference of 1954. The United States did not recognize North Vietnam and thus had no diplomatic relations with the country. After the reunification of Vietnam in 1976, there followed a period of 20 years in which the United States had no diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

Ambassador of the United States to Vietnam
Đại sứ Hoa Kỳ tại Việt Nam
Seal of the United States Mission to Vietnam
United States ambassador flag
Incumbent Marc Knapper since February 11, 2022
Nominator	The president of the United States
Inaugural holder	Pete Peterson as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Formation	April 11, 1997
Website	U.S. Embassy - Hanoi

The U.S. opened a Liaison Office in Hanoi on January 28, 1995. Diplomatic relations were established July 11, 1995, and the embassy in Hanoi was established with L. Desaix Anderson as chargé d’affaires ad interim.

Ambassadors

1950 to 1975 (South Vietnam)

See also: List of ambassadors of the United States to South Vietnam

Since 1997

Name	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission
Pete Peterson – Political appointee[1]	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	April 11, 1997	May 14, 1997	July 15, 2001
Raymond Burghardt – Career FSO		November 28, 2001	February 5, 2002	September 5, 2004
Michael W. Marine – Career FSO		May 6, 2004	September 10, 2004	August 10, 2007
Michael W. Michalak – Career FSO[2]		May 24, 2007	August 10, 2007	February 14, 2011
Virginia E. Palmer – Career FSO[3]	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	February 14, 2011	-	July 2011
David B. Shear – Career FSO[4]	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	August 4, 2011	August 29, 2011	August 8, 2014
Ted Osius – Career FSO[5]		December 10, 2014[6]	December 16, 2014[7]	November 4, 2017
Daniel Kritenbrink – Career FSO		October 27, 2017	November 6, 2017	April 15, 2021
Christopher Klein[8]	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	April 15, 2021[9]	-	October 15, 2021
Marie C. Damour	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	October 15, 2021[10]	-	January 3, 2022[11]
Marc Knapper – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	January 3, 2022[12]	February 11, 2022[13]	Incumbent

Residence

Ambassador's Residence

The house used by the U.S. ambassador was designed by M. LaCollogne, Principal Architect and Chief of Civil Construction Service in Tonkin and built in 1921 by Indochina Public Property, part of the French colonial government, for Indochina Financial Governors who lived here until 1948. The house was then assigned, until 1954, to the highest-ranking Indochina Tariff Officer. When the French left South East Asia in 1954, Vietnamese government officials moved in. Deputy Prime Minister Phan Kế Toại was the last occupant; at his death, the house became the headquarter of the Committee for Foreign Culture Exchange. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ press office was located in the building until 1994. The residence was included in an exchange of property between the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1995.^[14]