List of ambassadors of the United States to Saudi Arabia

The United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Saudi Arabia.

Ambassador of the United States to Saudi Arabia سفير الولايات المتحدة لدى المملكة العربية السعودية
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States ambassador
Incumbent Alison Dilworth Chargé d'affaires since January 20, 2025
Residence	Quincy House
Nominator	The president of the United States
Appointer	The president with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder	Bert Fish as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Formation	August 7, 1939
Website	U.S. Embassy – Riyadh

The United States recognized the government of King Ibn Saud in 1931, but it was not until 1939 when it appointed its first U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Bert Fish, then resident in Cairo and ambassador to Egypt. Fish made one trip down to Jeddah in 1940 to meet the King and present his credentials, but it was not until after his mission was terminated that a legation was established there on May 1, 1942.

The ambassador holds the title Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Ambassadors

Name	Title	Appointed	Presented credentials	Terminated mission	Notes
Bert Fish[1] – Political appointee	Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	Aug 7, 1939	Feb 4, 1940	Feb 28, 1941	The Legation in Jeddah was established on May 1, 1942, with James S. Moose, Jr., as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.
Alexander C. Kirk[2] – Career FSO		Feb 21, 1941	May 11, 1942	Jul 18, 1943
James S. Moose Jr. – Career FSO	Minister Resident/Foreign Service officer	Jun 4, 1943	Jul 18, 1943	Aug 18, 1944
William A. Eddy – Political appointee	Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	Aug 12, 1944	Sep 23, 1944	May 28, 1946
J. Rives Childs[3] – Career FSO		Apr 27, 1946	Jun 29, 1946	Jul 21, 1950	Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Raymond A. Hare[3] – Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Sep 20, 1950	Oct 24, 1950	Jul 8, 1953
George Wadsworth[4][3] – Career FSO		Oct 21, 1953	Jan 9, 1954	Jan 1, 1958
Donald R. Heath[5] – Career FSO		Nov 27, 1957	Jan 9, 1958	Apr 18, 1961
Parker T. Hart[6] – Career FSO		Apr 6, 1961	Jul 22, 1961	May 29, 1965
Hermann F. Eilts – Career FSO		Oct 20, 1965	Jan 15, 1966	Jul 23, 1970
Nicholas G. Thacher – Career FSO		Sep 8, 1970	Sep 22, 1970	Sep 19, 1973
James E. Akins – Career FSO		Sep 20, 1973	Nov 7, 1973	Feb 10, 1975
William J. Porter – Career FSO		Dec 22, 1975	Feb 21, 1976	May 27, 1977
John C. West – Political appointee		Jun 8, 1977	Jun 29, 1977	Mar 21, 1981
Robert G. Neumann – Political appointee		May 20, 1981	Jun 22, 1981	Jul 16, 1981
Richard W. Murphy[7] – Career FSO		Aug 19, 1981	Aug 29, 1981	Aug 21, 1983
Walter L. Cutler – Career FSO		Feb 10, 1984	Mar 31, 1984	Jun 22, 1987	On Sep 26, 1984, the U.S. Liaison Office in Riyadh was raised to the rank of embassy while the embassy in Jeddah became a consulate.
Hume Alexander Horan – Career FSO		Jul 2, 1987	Sep 22, 1987	Apr 22, 1988
Walter L. Cutler – Career FSO		Jul 15, 1988	Aug 17, 1988	Apr 30, 1989
Chas W. Freeman Jr. – Career FSO		Jun 15, 1989	Jan 14, 1990	Aug 13, 1992
C. David Welch	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	Aug 13, 1992	N/A	Aug 1, 1994
Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Jul 5, 1994	Aug 1, 1994	Apr 25, 1996
Wyche Fowler Jr.[8] – Political appointee		Aug 9, 1996	Sep 14, 1996	Mar 1, 2001
Robert W. Jordan – Political appointee		Oct 5, 2001	Jun 30, 2002	Oct 13, 2003
James C. Oberwetter – Political appointee		Dec 11, 2003	Oct 10, 2004	Mar 31, 2007
Ford M. Fraker[9] – Political appointee		March 30, 2007	September 2, 2007	January 20, 2009
James B. Smith – Political appointee		September 16, 2009	October 31, 2009	September 27, 2013
Joseph W. Westphal – Political appointee		March 26, 2014	March 28, 2014	January 8, 2017
Christopher Henzel[10]	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	January 8, 2017	N/A	April 17, 2019
John Abizaid – Political appointee	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	April 10, 2019	June 16, 2019[11]	January 20, 2021
Martina A. Strong	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	January 20, 2021	N/A	April 16, 2023
Denison Offutt	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	April 16, 2023	N/A	April 27, 2023
Michael Alan Ratney - Career FSO	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	March 14, 2023[12]	April 27, 2023	January 20, 2025[13]
Alison Dilworth	Chargé d'Affaires ad interim	January 20, 2025	N/A	Incumbent