# List of ambassadors of the United States to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
From 1877 until 1960, the republic had been a colony of Belgium, first under the name Congo Free State and then Belgian Congo.
The Congo was granted its independence on June 30, 1960, adopting the name “Republic of the Congo” (République du Congo). As the French colony of Middle Congo (Moyen-Congo) also chose the name Republic of Congo upon receiving its independence, the two countries were more commonly known as Congo-Léopoldville and Congo-Brazzaville, after their capital cities.
The United States immediately recognized the new Republic of the Congo and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The embassy in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) was established on June 30, 1960, with John D. Tomlinson as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The first ambassador, Clare H. Timberlake was appointed on July 5, 1960.
In 1971, President Joseph-Désiré Mobutu changed the country’s official name to Zaire.
In 1997, President Laurent Kabila restored the name "Democratic Republic of the Congo", previously used from 1964 to 1971.

## Ambassadors

| Name | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission |
| Clare H. Timberlake – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 5, 1960 | July 25, 1960 | June 15, 1961 |
| Edmund A. Gullion – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 3, 1961 | September 11, 1961 | February 20, 1964 |
| G. McMurtrie Godley – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | February 20, 1964 | March 23, 1964 | October 15, 1966 |
| Robert H. McBride – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 10, 1967 | June 29, 1967 | May 16, 1969 |
| Sheldon B. Vance – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 27, 1969 | June 28, 1969 | March 26, 1974 |
| Deane R. Hinton – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | June 20, 1974 | August 21, 1974 | June 21, 1975 |
| Walter L. Cutler – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 20, 1975 | December 23, 1975 | May 9, 1979 |
| Robert B. Oakley – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 6, 1979 | November 28, 1979 | August 22, 1982 |
| Peter Dalton Constable – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 30, 1982 | October 18, 1982 | August 31, 1984 |
| Brandon Hambright Grove, Jr. – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 13, 1984 | September 18, 1984 | September 18, 1987 |
| William Caldwell Harrop – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 18, 1987 | January 28, 1988 | May 18, 1991 |
| Melissa Foelsch Wells – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | April 25, 1991 | June 11, 1991 | March 21, 1992 |
| John M. Yates | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | March 21, 1992 | Unknown | September 1995 |
| Roger A. Meece | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | September 1995 | Unknown | November 23, 1995 |
| Daniel H. Simpson – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 3, 1995 | November 23, 1995 | June 11, 1998 |
| William Lacy Swing – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 11, 1998 | October 13, 1998 | August 11, 2001 |
| Aubrey Hooks – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 12, 2001 | September 4, 2001 | April 17, 2004 |
| Roger A. Meece – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 14, 2004 | August 3, 2004 | August 14, 2007 |
| William J. Garvelink – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 2, 2007 | November 29, 2007 | May 10, 2010 |
| Samuel C. Laeuchli - Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | August 2010 | Unknown | November 4, 2010 |
| James F. Entwistle - Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 8, 2010 | November 4, 2010 | August 10, 2013 |
| James C. Swan - Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 6, 2013 | November 1, 2013 | December 31, 2016 |
| Michael A. Hammer - Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 6, 2018 | December 22, 2018 | June 1, 2022 |
| Lucy Tamlyn - Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 20, 2022 | February 6, 2023 | Incumbent |