The ambassador of the United States to Finland is the highest-ranking diplomatic position of the United States in Finland. The U.S. ambassadors are nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to Ukraine. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, their appointment must be confirmed by the United States Senate;U.S. SenatePowers & Procedure , Senate.gov; retrieved May 25, 2012. while an ambassador may be appointed during a recess, they can serve only until the end of the next session of Congress, unless subsequently confirmed. Ambassadors are under the jurisdiction of the Department of State and answer directly to the secretary 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 career Foreign Service Officer (career diplomatCD) or a political 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 Finland resides in Helsinki, the country's capital and location of the U.S. Embassy.

Finland declared its independence on December 6, 1917 after being a part of the Russian Empire since 1809. The first country to recognize Finland was the Russian SFSR on January 4th, 1918.

The United States recognized Finland as an independent state on May 7, 1919.Country-Studies.com A U.S. legation was established in Helsinki and the first envoy, Alexander R. Magruder, presented his credentials as Chargé d'Affaires to the government of Finland on March 19, 1920. United States–Finland relations have been continuous since that time except for a brief period in 1944–45 when the U.S. severed relations during World War II.

The U.S. Embassy in Finland is located in Helsinki in the Kaivopuisto neighborhood.

Ambassadors

+ImageNameTitleAppointedPresented credentialsTerminated missionNotesAlexander R. Magruder – Career FSOChargé d'AffairesMarch 19, 1920Magruder was the chargé d’affaires rather than the ambassador, and thus was not commissioned. His letter of credence was dated March 13, 1920.February 17, 1922Charles L. Kagey – Political appointeeEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryOctober 8, 1921February 17, 1922March 24, 1925Alfred J. PearsonPearson was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1925. – Political appointeeJune 23, 1925September 5, 1925April 30, 1930Edward E. Brodie – Political appointeeJanuary 31, 1930May 16, 1930September 21, 1933Edward AlbrightAlbright was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 15, 1934. – Political appointeeJuly 21, 1933October 5, 1933April 12, 1937H. F. Arthur Schoenfeld – Career FSOApril 22, 1937July 2, 1937December 17, 1942The United States severed diplomatic relations with Finland on June 30, 1944, as result of the Continuation War. Edmund A. Gullion was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when the relations were severed. The United States reestablished diplomatic relations with Finland after World War II. The legation in Helsinki was reestablished September 1, 1945, with Benjamin M. Hulley as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.Maxwell M. Hamilton – Career FSOEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiarySeptember 25, 1945March 26, 1946August 25, 1947Avra M. Warren – Career FSODecember 18, 1947February 10, 1948February 18, 1950John M. Cabot – Career FSOFebruary 2, 1950February 27, 1950September 20, 1952Jack K. McFallMcFall was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on May 1, 1953. – Career FSOSeptember 10, 1952November 15, 1952September 19, 1955 The legation in Helsinki was raised to embassy status on September 10, 1954. Concurrently the post of Minister became that of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.John D. HickersonHickerson was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 25, 1956. – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryOctober 4, 1955November 23, 1955November 3, 1959Edson O. SessionsSessions was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 21, 1960. – Political appointeeOctober 20, 1959November 28, 1959November 20, 1960Bernard Gufler – Career FSOFebruary 24, 1961April 14, 1961April 18, 1963Carl T. Rowan – Political appointeeMarch 9, 1963May 21, 1963February 8, 1964Tyler Thompson – Career FSOJuly 31, 1964August 25, 1964June 14, 1969Val Peterson – Political appointeeMay 1, 1969July 14, 1969March 23, 1973V. John Krehbiel – Political appointeeMarch 27, 1973June 1, 1973February 24, 1975Mark Evans Austad – Political appointeeFebruary 20, 1975March 20, 1975April 14, 1977Rozanne L. Ridgway – Career FSOMay 26, 1977August 5, 1977February 20, 1980James E. Goodby – Career FSOMarch 18, 1980April 11, 1980August 18, 1981Keith Foote Nyborg – Political appointeeJuly 30, 1981September 18, 1981February 17, 1986Rockwell A. Schnabel – Political appointeeDecember 17, 1985February 28, 1986February 24, 1989John Giffen Weinmann – Political appointeeOctober 10, 1989November 10, 1989August 29, 1991John Hubert Kelly – Career FSODecember 2, 1991December 20, 1991July 5, 1994Derek Shearer – Political appointeeMay 29, 1994July 1, 1994October 31, 1997Eric S. Edelman – Career FSOJune 29, 1998August 27, 1998January 29, 2001Bonnie McElveen-Hunter – Political appointeeNovember 5, 2001December 5, 2001December 15, 2003Earle I. Mack – Political appointeeMay 25, 2004June 10, 2004October 20, 2005Marilyn Ware – Political appointeeFebruary 7, 2006March 9, 2006March 28, 2008Barbara Barrett – Political appointeeApril 20, 2008May 23, 2008January 16, 2009Michael ButlerChargé d'AffairesJanuary 16, 2009N/AAugust 12, 2009Bruce J. Oreck – Political appointeeAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryAugust 12, 2009September 10, 2009July 25, 2015Charles C. Adams Jr. – Political appointeeJune 24, 2015August 4, 2015January 20, 2017Robert Pence – Political appointeeMarch 22, 2018May 24, 2018January 14, 2021Ian CampbellChargé d'AffairesJanuary 14, 2021N/AMay 11, 2022Doug Hickey – Political appointeeAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMarch 24, 2022May 11, 2022September 20, 2024Christopher KrafftChargé d'AffairesSeptember 20, 2024N/AJuly 24, 2025J. Chris KarberChargé d'AffairesJuly 25, 2025N/ANovember 13, 2025Howard Brodie – Political appointeeAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryOctober 7, 2025November 13, 2025Present

Notes

See also List of ambassadors of Finland to the United States Finland–United States relations Foreign relations of Finland Ambassadors of the United States

References United States Department of State: Background notes on Finland

External links United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Finland United States Department of State: Finland United States Embassy in Helsinki