List of ambassadors of the United States to Cape Verde

Cape Verde had been a Portuguese colony for more than 500 years since 1456. In 1974 Portugal and the Cape Verdeans signed an agreement to form a transitional government, and Cape Verde gained full independence from Portugal on July 5, 1975.

Ambassador of the United States to Cape Verde
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States ambassador
Incumbent Jennifer M. Adams since September 10, 2024[1]
Nominator	The president of the United States
Appointer	The president with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder	Melissa F. Wells as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Formation	September 16, 1976
Website	U.S. Embassy - Praia

The United States recognized Cape Verde and commissioned its first ambassador Melissa F. Wells in 1976. Ambassador Wells was concurrently accredited to Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde while resident at Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. In 1980, an embassy was established in the capital Praia with a chargé d’affaires managing the business of the embassy. Until 1980 one ambassador, resident at Bissau, was concurrently commissioned to Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.

Ambassadors

Name	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission	Notes
Melissa F. Wells – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	September 16, 1976	November 18, 1976	March 23, 1977
Edward Marks – Career FSO		September 15, 1977	October 18, 1977	July 11, 1980	Embassy Praia was established January 28, 1978 with Howard McGowan as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. The ambassador remained in Bissau.
Peter Jon de Vos – Career FSO		September 5, 1980	September 24, 1980	Left Bissau, March 30, 1983	In 1983 the first ambassador was appointed solely accredited to Cape Verde.
John Melvin Yates – Career FSO		March 18, 1983	April 26, 1983	May 24, 1986
Vernon Dubois Penner, Jr. – Career FSO		June 16, 1986	July 15, 1986	November 21, 1989
Francis Terry McNamara – Career FSO		November 21, 1989	December 23, 1989	December 31, 1992
Joseph Monroe Segars – Career FSO		July 14, 1992	March 24, 1993	March 17, 1996
Lawrence Neal Benedict – Career FSO		June 6, 1996	July 30, 1996	August 11, 1999
Michael D. Metelits – Career FSO		July 7, 1999	September 15, 1999	July 24, 2002
Donald C. Johnson – Career FSO		October 3, 2002	November 21, 2002	April 4, 2005
Roger D. Pierce – Career FSO		June 21, 2005	September 27, 2005	June 9, 2008
Marianne M. Myles – Career FSO		June 6, 2008	August 6, 2008	August 1, 2011
Dana Brown - Career FSO	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	August 1, 2011	Unknown	December 9, 2011
Adrienne S. O'Neal - Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	October 19, 2011	December 9, 2011	January 31, 2015
Donald Heflin - Career FSO		December 18, 2014	January 31, 2015[2]	September 11, 2018
Jeff Daigle - Career FSO		May 29, 2019	September 10, 2019	July 3, 2024
Jennifer M. Adams - Career FSO		May 2, 2024	September 10, 2024[3]	Incumbent

See also

• Embassy of Cape Verde in Washington, D.C.
• Cape Verde – United States relations
• Foreign relations of Cape Verde
• Ambassadors from the United States