Ambassadors of the United States

In most cases, career foreign service officers serve a tour of approximately three years per ambassadorship, whereas political appointees customarily tender their resignations upon the inauguration of a new president.

The State Department posts updated lists of ambassadors approximately monthly, accessible via an interactive menu-based website.

Many oversee a portfolio not restricted to one nation, often an overall goal, and are not usually subject to Senate confirmation.

[14][13][15] Unlike the State Department offices and diplomats listed in other sections of this Article, the offices and special envoys/representatives/coordinators listed in this Section are created and staffed by direction of top Federal Executive administrators – primarily U.S. Presidents and Secretaries of State – whose political or organizational management philosophies may not be shared by their successors.

Eight United States Ambassadors have been killed in office – six of them by armed attack and the other two in plane crashes.