The United States ambassador to Burundi is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Burundi.
Until 1962 Burundi had been a part of the United Nations Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi under the trusteeship of Belgium. In June 1962 the UN General Assembly terminated the Belgian trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda and Burundi. The United States immediately recognized the Burundian government and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The U.S. Embassy in the capital Usumbura (now Bujumbura) was established on July 1, 1962, with Herbert V. Olds as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. Donald A. Dumont was appointed as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Burundi on October 25, 1962.
The rank of the mission was changed to Legation effective December 15, 1962, and to Embassy again effective September 16, 1963.
Ambassadors +Name TitleAppointedPresented credentialsTerminated mission NotesDonald A. Dumont – Career FSODumont was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on March 12, 1963.The rank of the mission was raised from Legation to Embassy simultaneously with Dumont’s promotion.Following a coup d’état in Burundi, Dumont was recalled at the request of the government of Burundi on January 10, 1966.Envoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryOctober 25, 1962January 17, 1963August 1, 1963Dumont was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on August 1, 1963. This required a new commission.Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryAugust 1, 1963September 16, 1963January 10, 1966Recall requested by Govt. of Burundi, December 29, 1965George W. Renchard – Career FSOJuly 24, 1968August 10, 1968October 15, 1969Thomas Patrick Melady – Political appointeeNovember 4, 1969January 31, 1970May 25, 1972Robert L. Yost – Career FSOJune 27, 1972August 19, 1972May 26, 1974David E. Mark – Career FSOJune 20, 1974September 4, 1974August 26, 1977Thomas J. Corcoran – Career FSOMarch 2, 1978April 6, 1978August 19, 1980Frances D. Cook – Career FSOJune 30, 1980September 25, 1980March 15, 1983James R. Bullington – Career FSOMarch 13, 1983April 14, 1983July 11, 1986James Daniel Phillips – Career FSOOctober 16, 1986November 20, 1986January 12, 1990Cynthia Shepard Perry – Political appointeeNovember 21, 1989February 12, 1990February 28, 1993 The post was vacant from March 1993 to June 1994. Leonard J. Lange, Career FSO, served as chargé d'affaires ad interim during that period.Robert Krueger – Political appointeeMay 9, 1994June 29, 1994September 10, 1995Morris N. Hughes, Jr. – Career FSOJune 11, 1996June 27, 1996May 14, 1999Mary Carlin Yates – Career FSONovember 16, 1999December 15, 1999June 19, 2002James Howard Yellin – Career FSOAugust 8, 2002September 26, 2002July 21, 2005Patricia Moller – Career FSOOctober 27, 2005March 31, 2006June 29, 2009Pamela J. H. Slutz - Career FSONovember 2, 2009December 11, 2009February 22, 2012Dawn M. Liberi – Career FSOOctober 19, 2012January 18, 2013July 24, 2016Anne S. Casper – Career FSO May 18, 2016October 20, 2016 May 5, 2019Eunice Reddick – Career FSO Chargé d'Affairs ad interimMay 5, 2019March 2, 2021Melanie Harris Higgins – Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryNovember 18, 2020March 2, 2021July 13, 2023Keith R. Gilges – Career FSO Chargé d'Affairs ad interimJuly 14, 2023May 2024David Dale Reimer - Career FSO Chargé d'Affairs ad interimMay 2024June 21, 2024Lisa J. Peterson - Career FSO Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMay 2, 2024June 27, 2024January 18, 2026Amy Davison - Career FSO Chargé d'Affairs ad interimJanuary 19, 2026June 2, 2026https://x.com/i/status/2062063027298394205Bridget Premont - Career FSO Chargé d'Affairs ad interimJune 9, 2026Present
Notes
See also Burundi – United States relations Foreign relations of Burundi Ambassadors from the United States
References United States Department of State: Background notes on Rwanda
External links United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Burundi United States Department of State: Burundi United States Embassy in Bujumbura