List of United States permanent representatives to NATO

The United States permanent representative to NATO (commonly referred to as the U.S. ambassador to NATO) is the official representative of the United States mission to NATO. The representative has the rank of full ambassador and is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The official title of the representative is United States permanent representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with the rank and status of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

Permanent Representative of the United States to NATO
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States chief of mission
Incumbent Matthew Whitaker since April 3, 2025
Nominator	The president of the United States
Appointer	The president of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder	William H. Draper Jr. as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Formation	April 8, 1953
Website	U.S. Mission - NATO

The first representative was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953.

List

#	Portrait	Ambassador	Dates served
1		William Henry Draper Jr.	April 8, 1953 – June 13, 1953
2		John Chambers Hughes	June 12, 1953 – April 20, 1955
3		George Walbridge Perkins Jr.	March 14, 1955 – October 12, 1957
4		Warren Randolph Burgess	September 21, 1957 – March 23, 1961
5		Thomas K. Finletter	March 2, 1961 – September 2, 1965
6		Harlan Cleveland	September 1, 1965 – June 11, 1969
7		Robert Ellsworth	May 13, 1969 – June 30, 1971
8		David M. Kennedy	March 17, 1972 – February 1, 1973
9		Donald Rumsfeld	February 2, 1973 – December 5, 1974
10		David K. E. Bruce	October 17, 1974 – February 12, 1976
11		Robert Strausz-Hupé	March 3, 1976 – April 20, 1977
12		William Tapley Bennett Jr.	April 26, 1977 – March 31, 1983
13		David Manker Abshire	July 13, 1983 – January 5, 1987
14		Alton G. Keel Jr.	March 13, 1987 – June 17, 1989
15		William Howard Taft IV	August 3, 1989 – June 26, 1992
16		Reginald Bartholomew	June 15, 1992 – March 25, 1993
17		Robert E. Hunter	July 1, 1993 – December 31, 1997
18		Alexander Vershbow	January 1, 1998 – July 9, 2001
19		R. Nicholas Burns	August 7, 2001 – March 7, 2005
20		Victoria Nuland	July 13, 2005 – May 2, 2008
21		Kurt Volker	July 2, 2008 – May 13, 2009
22		Ivo H. Daalder	May 15, 2009 – July 6, 2013
23		Douglas Lute	September 3, 2013 – January 20, 2017
24		Kay Bailey Hutchison	August 28, 2017 – January 20, 2021
-		Douglas D. Jones (acting)	January 20, 2021 – September 27, 2021
25		Julianne Smith	December 6, 2021 – October 23, 2024
-		Scott Oudkirk (acting)	October 24, 2024 – April 3, 2025
26		Matthew Whitaker	April 3, 2025 - present