List of ambassadors of the United States to Iceland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Until 1874, Iceland was a dependency of Denmark rather than an independent nation. In 1874, Denmark granted Iceland home rule, which again was expanded in 1904. In 1918, The Act of Union, an agreement between Denmark, recognized Iceland as a fully sovereign state united with Denmark under a common king. Iceland established its own flag and asked that Denmark represent its foreign affairs and defense interests; thus, the United States ambassador to Denmark conducted foreign relations between the United States and Iceland.
- The president
- with Senate advice and consent
- Lincoln MacVeagh
- as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
| Ambassador of the United States to Iceland | |
|---|---|
Seal of the United States Department of State | |
 | |
| Nominator | The president of the United States |
| Appointer |
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| Inaugural holder |
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| Formation | August 8, 1941 |
| Website | is |
The German invasion and occupation of Denmark on April 9, 1940, severed communications between Iceland and Denmark. As a result, on April 10, the Parliament of Iceland elected to take control of their own foreign affairs. The United States thus commissioned Lincoln MacVeagh as its first ambassador to Iceland on August 8, 1941. MacVeagh presented his credentials to the foreign minister of Iceland on September 30, 1941. His title was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. The US has maintained continuous diplomatic relations with Iceland since then.
Following a plebiscite, Iceland formally became an independent republic on June 17, 1944.
List of ambassadors
| # | Name | Title | Appointment | Presentation of credentials | Termination of mission | Nature of appointment | Nature of termination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln MacVeagh | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | 1941-08-08 | 1941-09-30 | 1942-06-27 | Political appointee | Left post |
| 2 | Leland Burnette Morris | 1942-08-13 | 1942-10-07 | 1944-05-10 | Career FSO | Relinquished charge | |
| 3 | Louis Goethe Dreyfus, Jr. | 1944-03-21 | 1944-06-14 | 1946-10-21 | Left post | ||
| 4 | Richard P. Butrick | 1948-02-26 | 1948-04-29 | 1949-08-10 | |||
| 5 | Edward B. Lawson | 1949-07-22 | 1949-09-22 | 1954-05-29 | |||
| 6 | John Joseph Muccio | 1954-08-23 | 1954-10-12 | 1955-10-19 | Mission title changed | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1955-10-19 | 1955-11-03 | 1959-12-16 | Left post | |||
| 7 | Tyler Thompson | 1960-01-27 | 1960-02-19 | 1961-04-16 | |||
| 8 | James K. Penfield | 1961-04-27 | 1961-05-24 | 1967-03-16 | |||
| 9 | Karl Fritjof Rolvaag | 1967-04-05 | 1967-05-09 | 1969-03-27 | Political appointee | ||
| 10 | Luther I. Replogle | 1969-07-08 | 1969-09-12 | 1972-06-15 | |||
| 11 | Frederick Irving | 1972-09-11 | 1972-10-11 | 1976-04-21 | Career FSO | ||
| 12 | James J. Blake | 1976-07-01 | 1976-09-08 | 1978-09-29 | |||
| 13 | Richard A. Ericson, Jr.[1] | 1978-10-12 | 1978-11-21 | 1981-08-15 | |||
| 14 | Marshall Brement | 1981-07-27 | 1981-09-16 | 1985-08-01 | |||
| 15 | L. Nicholas Ruwe | 1985-07-12 | 1985-08-21 | 1989-10-07 | Political appointee | ||
| 16 | Charles Elvan Cobb, Jr. | 1989-10-10 | 1989-11-08 | 1992-01-10 | |||
| 17 | Sigmund Rogich | 1992-05-11 | 1992-06-04 | 1993-10-14 | |||
| 18 | Parker W. Borg | 1993-10-08 | 1993-11-24 | 1996-07-13 | Career FSO | ||
| 19 | Day O. Mount | 1996-06-11 | 1996-09-03 | 1999-08-12 | |||
| 20 | Barbara J. Griffiths | 1999-08-09 | 1999-09-29 | 2002-07-29 | |||
| 21 | James Irvin Gadsden | 2002-10-03 | 2002-12-09 | 2005-07-14 | |||
| 22 | Carol van Voorst | 2006-01-03 | 2006-01-26 | 2009-04-30 | |||
| 23 | Luis E. Arreaga | 2010-09-10 | 2010-09-20 | 2013-11-23 | |||
| 24 | Robert C. Barber | 2015-01-02 | 2015-01-28 | 2017-01-20 | Political appointee | ||
| 25 | Jeffrey Ross Gunter | 2019-05-23 | 2019-07-02 | 2021-01-20 | |||
| 26 | Carrin Patman | 2022-08-07 | 2022-10-06 | 2025-01-18 | |||
| 27 | Billy Long | 2026-05-18 | 2026-08-10 | Present |
