List of ambassadors of the United States to Nigeria

The following is a list of United States ambassadors to Nigeria.

Ambassador of the United States to Nigeria
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States ambassador
Incumbent Richard M. Mills Jr. since July 25, 2024
Nominator	The president of the United States
Appointer	The president with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder	Joseph Palmer II as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Formation	September 23, 1960
Website	U.S. Embassy - Abuja

Ambassadors

Name	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission	Notes
Joseph Palmer II[1] - Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	September 23, 1960	October 4, 1960	January 16, 1964	The Embassy in Lagos was established October 1, 1960. Reaccredited when Nigeria became a republic; presented new credentials December 12, 1963.
Elbert G. Mathews - Career FSO		March 10, 1964	April 11, 1964	July 26, 1969
William Trueheart - Career FSO		September 19, 1969	November 6, 1969	September 1, 1971
John Reinhardt - Career FSO		September 30, 1971	December 3, 1971	February 23, 1975
Donald B. Easum - Career FSO		March 26, 1975	May 22, 1975	October 15, 1979
Stephen Low - Career FSO		September 20, 1979	November 29, 1979	July 4, 1981
Thomas R. Pickering - Career FSO		October 26, 1981	November 30, 1981	July 9, 1983
Thomas W. M. Smith - Career FSO		February 10, 1984	March 15, 1984	May 5, 1986
Princeton Lyman - Career FSO		September 12, 1986	October 10, 1986	July 24, 1989
Lannon Walker - Career FSO		October 10, 1989	November 17, 1989	July 10, 1992
William L. Swing - Career FSO		June 15, 1992	September 24, 1992	September 22, 1993
Walter Carrington - Political appointee		August 10, 1993	November 9, 1993	October 7, 1997
William H. Twaddell - Career FSO		November 10, 1997	December 19, 1997	August 3, 2000	The U.S. Embassy was transferred from Lagos to Abuja September 15, 2000.
Howard Franklin Jeter - Career FSO		December 28, 2000	March 3, 2001	July 30, 2003
John Campbell - Career FSO		May 12, 2004	June 25, 2004	July 19, 2007
Robin R. Sanders - Career FSO		October 29, 2007	December 3, 2007	August 27, 2010[2]
Terence P. McCulley - Career FSO		August 9, 2010	November 2, 2010	August 29, 2013[3]
James F. Entwistle - Career FSO		August 22, 2013	November 26, 2013	July 21, 2016[4]	Sworn in October 28, 2013
W. Stuart Symington - Career FSO		October 3, 2016	December 1, 2016	August 30, 2019	Sworn in October 31, 2016
Mary Beth Leonard - Career FSO		September 11, 2019	December 24, 2019	March 31, 2023[5]	Sworn in October 4, 2019
David Greene - Career FSO	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	March 31, 2023		June 22, 2024
Richard Merrill Mills Jr. - Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	May 2, 2024	July 25, 2024[6]	Incumbent