| Ambassador of the United States to Ukraine | |
|---|---|
| Посол Сполучених Штатів в Україні | |
 Seal of the United States Department of State | |
 Flag of a United States ambassador | |
 | |
| Nominator | Thepresident of the United States |
| Inaugural holder | Roman Popadiuk as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |
| Formation | May 11, 1992 |
| Website | U.S. Embassy – Kyiv |
Theambassador of the United States to Ukraine is the highest-ranking diplomatic position of theUnited States inUkraine. The U.S. ambassadors are nominated by thepresident to serve as the country'sdiplomatic representatives to Ukraine. UnderArticle II, Section 2 of theU.S. Constitution, their appointment must beconfirmed by theUnited States Senate;[2] while an ambassador may beappointed during a recess, they can serve only until the end of the next session of Congress, unless subsequently confirmed.[3] Ambassadors are under the jurisdiction of theDepartment of State and answer directly to thesecretary of state; however, ambassadors serve "at the pleasure of the President", meaning they can be dismissed at any time. Appointments change regularly for various reasons, such as reassignment or retirement. An ambassador may be a careerForeign Service Officer (career diplomat – CD) or apolitical appointee (PA). 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 American president. The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine resides inKyiv, the country's capital and location of theU.S. Embassy.
The U.S. recognized Ukraine's independence on 25 December 1991 and the following year, opened an embassy and appointed the first American ambassador to the country on 21 January 1992. Upon the breakup of the USSR, the parliament of Ukrainedeclared the nation's independence on August 24, 1991. On December 1, 1991, the people of Ukraine voted to approve the declaration by a wide margin. The United Statesrecognized Ukraine on December 26, 1991, and the U.S. embassy in Kyiv was established on January 23, 1992, withJon Gundersen asChargé d'Affairesad interim. The firstambassador was commissioned in May 1992. In January 2022, the embassy requested the evacuation of non-essential personnel and their families as the2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis escalated.[4]
| No. | Image | Name | Type | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – |  | Jon Gundersen | Career FSO | Chargé d'Affairesad interim | January 23, 1992 | May 11, 1992 | |
| 1 |  | Roman Popadiuk | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 11, 1992 | June 4, 1992 | July 30, 1993 | |
| 2 |  | William Green Miller | Political appointee | September 16, 1993 | October 21, 1993 | January 6, 1998 | |
| 3 | .jpg) | Steven Pifer | Career FSO | November 10, 1997 | January 20, 1998 | October 9, 2000 | |
| 4 |  | Carlos Pascual | September 15, 2000 | October 22, 2000 | May 1, 2003 | ||
| 5 |  | John E. Herbst | July 1, 2003 | September 20, 2003 | May 26, 2006 | ||
| 6 |  | William B. Taylor Jr. | Political appointee[5] | May 30, 2006[5] | June 21, 2006 | May 23, 2009[6] | |
| 7 |  | John F. Tefft[7][8] | Career FSO | November 20, 2009[6] | December 7, 2009[8] | July 9, 2013 | |
| 8 |  | Geoffrey R. Pyatt[9][10] | July 30, 2013[10] | August 15, 2013[9] | August 18, 2016 | ||
| 9 |  | Marie Yovanovitch | May 18, 2016[11] | August 29, 2016 | May 20, 2019 | ||
| – |  | Joseph Pennington | Chargé d'Affairesad interim | May 20, 2019 | May 28, 2019 | ||
| – |  | Kristina Kvien[12] | May 28, 2019 | June 18, 2019[13] | |||
| – |  | William B. Taylor Jr.[14] | Political appointee[5] | June 18, 2019[13] | January 1, 2020[15] | ||
| – | | Kristina Kvien | Career FSO | January 1, 2020[16] | May 29, 2022[17] | ||
| 10 |  | Bridget Brink | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 18, 2022 | May 30, 2022 | April 21, 2025 | |
| – |  | John Ginkel | Chargé d'Affairesad interim | April 21, 2025 | May 5, 2025 | ||
| – | | Julie D. Fisher | May 5, 2025 | Incumbent |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromU.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets.United States Department of State.
