The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Panama since its separation from Colombia in 1903. The rank of the U.S. chief of mission to Panama was originally Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, but it was upgraded to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in 1939.
Normal diplomatic relations between the United States and Panama have been interrupted only once, from January 10 to April 3, 1964, in the aftermath of the Martyrs' Day riots over sovereignty.
List of ambassadors The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to Panama. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Representative Title Presentationof credentials Terminationof mission Appointed by William I. Buchanan Envoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryBuchanan presented credentials as “Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary on special mission” in December 1903; he received new credentials as “Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary” only a few days before he was to leave Panama and apparently did not present them. He ceased to act “on special mission,” however, and conducted business in the capacity of “Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary” until his departure. December 17, 1903 February 2, 1904 Theodore Roosevelt John Barrett July 22, 1904 May 13, 1905 Charles E. Magoon August 7, 1905 September 25, 1906 Herbert G. Squiers November 8, 1906 August 3, 1909 R. S. Reynolds Hitt March 26, 1910 July 19, 1910 William H. Taft Thomas C. Dawson September 24, 1910 December 1, 1910 Henry Percival Dodge November 9, 1911 June 10, 1913 William Jennings Price October 11, 1913 December 28, 1921 Woodrow Wilson John Glover South December 28, 1921 January 5, 1930 Warren G. Harding Roy T. Davis March 14, 1930 September 20, 1933 Herbert Hoover Antonio C. Gonzalez October 11, 1933 January 9, 1935 Franklin D. Roosevelt George T. Summerlin March 8, 1935 July 7, 1937 Frank P. Corrigan September 2, 1937 June 14, 1939 William Dawson Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary July 14, 1939 April 21, 1941 Edwin C. Wilson May 23, 1941 September 23, 1943 Avra M. Warren June 22, 1944 January 5, 1945 Frank T. Hines November 1, 1945 February 20, 1948 Harry S. Truman Monnett B. Davis May 28, 1948 January 24, 1951 John C. Wiley July 25, 1951 November 27, 1953 Selden Chapin January 22, 1954 May 29, 1955 Dwight D. Eisenhower Julian F. Harrington August 30, 1955 July 14, 1960 Joseph S. Farland August 29, 1960 August 31, 1963 Wallace W. Stuart Chargé d'Affaires ad interim September 1963 January 10, 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson Henry L. Taylor April 3, 1964 May 6, 1964 Jack Hood Vaughn Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 6, 1964 February 27, 1965 Charles W. Adair, Jr. May 13, 1965 September 6, 1969 Robert M. Sayre October 31, 1969 March 14, 1974 Richard Nixon William J. Jorden April 17, 1974 August 25, 1978 Ambler Hodges Moss, Jr. October 6, 1978 July 15, 1982 Jimmy Carter Everett Ellis Briggs October 29, 1982 February 24, 1986 Ronald Reagan Arthur H. Davis, Jr. April 4, 1986 January 3, 1990 Deane Roesch Hinton January 9, 1990 February 12, 1994 George H. W. Bush Oliver P. Garza Chargé d'Affaires ad interim February 12, 1994 November 7, 1995 Bill Clinton William J. Hughes Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 7, 1995 October 13, 1998 Simon Ferro February 26, 1999 March 1, 2001 Linda Ellen Watt December 17, 2002 June 3, 2005 George W. Bush William A. Eaton September 9, 2005 July 5, 2008 Barbara J. StephensonAugust 6, 2008July 14, 2010 Phyllis M. PowersAugust 8, 2010April 3, 2012Barack Obama John Law Chargé d'Affaires ad interimApril 3, 2012May 15, 2012 Jonathan D. Farrar Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMay 15, 2012June 5, 2015 John D. Feeley December 9, 2015 March 9, 2018 Roxanne Cabral Chargé d'Affaires ad interim March 9, 2018 January 16, 2020 Donald Trump Philip Laidlaw January 16, 2020 August 1, 2020Stewart Tuttle August 1, 2020 November 21, 2022 Joe Biden Mari Carmen Aponte Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary November 21, 2022 January 20, 2025 John Barrett Chargé d'Affaires ad interim January 20, 2025 April 28, 2025 Donald Trump Kevin Marino Cabrera Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary May 5, 2025 Incumbent
See also Panama – United States relations Foreign relations of Panama Ambassadors of the United States
References
United States Department of State: Background notes on Panama
External links United States Department: Chiefs of Mission for Panama United States Department of State: Panama United States Embassy in Panama