# List of ambassadors of the United States to Iceland

Until 1874, Iceland was a dependency of Denmark rather than an independent nation. In 1874, Denmark granted Iceland home rule, which again was expanded in 1904. In 1918, The Act of Union, an agreement between Denmark, recognized Iceland as a fully sovereign state united with Denmark under a common king. Iceland established its own flag and asked that Denmark represent its foreign affairs and defense interests; thus, the United States ambassador to Denmark conducted foreign relations between the United States and Iceland.
The German invasion and occupation of Denmark on April 9, 1940, severed communications between Iceland and Denmark. As a result, on April 10, the Parliament of Iceland elected to take control of their own foreign affairs. The United States thus commissioned Lincoln MacVeagh as its first ambassador to Iceland on August 8, 1941. MacVeagh presented his credentials to the foreign minister of Iceland on September 30, 1941. His title was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. The US has maintained continuous diplomatic relations with Iceland since then.
Following a plebiscite, Iceland formally became an independent republic on June 17, 1944.

## List of ambassadors

| # | Name | Title | Appointment | Presentation of credentials | Termination of mission | Nature of appointment | Nature of termination |
| 1 | Lincoln MacVeagh | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | 1941-08-08 | 1941-09-30 | 1942-06-27 | Political appointee | Left post |
| 2 | Leland Burnette Morris | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | 1942-08-13 | 1942-10-07 | 1944-05-10 | Career FSO | Relinquished charge |
| 3 | Louis Goethe Dreyfus, Jr. | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | 1944-03-21 | 1944-06-14 | 1946-10-21 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 4 | Richard P. Butrick | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | 1948-02-26 | 1948-04-29 | 1949-08-10 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 5 | Edward B. Lawson | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | 1949-07-22 | 1949-09-22 | 1954-05-29 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 6 | John Joseph Muccio | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | 1954-08-23 | 1954-10-12 | 1955-10-19 | Career FSO | Mission title changed |
| 6 | John Joseph Muccio | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1955-10-19 | 1955-11-03 | 1959-12-16 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 7 | Tyler Thompson | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1960-01-27 | 1960-02-19 | 1961-04-16 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 8 | James K. Penfield | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1961-04-27 | 1961-05-24 | 1967-03-16 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 9 | Karl Fritjof Rolvaag | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1967-04-05 | 1967-05-09 | 1969-03-27 | Political appointee | Left post |
| 10 | Luther I. Replogle | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1969-07-08 | 1969-09-12 | 1972-06-15 | Political appointee | Left post |
| 11 | Frederick Irving | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1972-09-11 | 1972-10-11 | 1976-04-21 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 12 | James J. Blake | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1976-07-01 | 1976-09-08 | 1978-09-29 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 13 | Richard A. Ericson, Jr. | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1978-10-12 | 1978-11-21 | 1981-08-15 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 14 | Marshall Brement | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1981-07-27 | 1981-09-16 | 1985-08-01 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 15 | L. Nicholas Ruwe | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1985-07-12 | 1985-08-21 | 1989-10-07 | Political appointee | Left post |
| 16 | Charles Elvan Cobb, Jr. | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1989-10-10 | 1989-11-08 | 1992-01-10 | Political appointee | Left post |
| 17 | Sigmund Rogich | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1992-05-11 | 1992-06-04 | 1993-10-14 | Political appointee | Left post |
| 18 | Parker W. Borg | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1993-10-08 | 1993-11-24 | 1996-07-13 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 19 | Day O. Mount | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1996-06-11 | 1996-09-03 | 1999-08-12 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 20 | Barbara J. Griffiths | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 1999-08-09 | 1999-09-29 | 2002-07-29 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 21 | James Irvin Gadsden | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 2002-10-03 | 2002-12-09 | 2005-07-14 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 22 | Carol van Voorst | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 2006-01-03 | 2006-01-26 | 2009-04-30 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 23 | Luis E. Arreaga | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 2010-09-10 | 2010-09-20 | 2013-11-23 | Career FSO | Left post |
| 24 | Robert C. Barber | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 2015-01-02 | 2015-01-28 | 2017-01-20 | Political appointee | Left post |
| 25 | Jeffrey Ross Gunter | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 2019-05-23 | 2019-07-02 | 2021-01-20 | Political appointee | Left post |
| 26 | Carrin Patman | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 2022-08-07 | 2022-10-06 | 2025-01-18 | Political appointee | Left post |