# List of ambassadors of the United States to South Africa

Before 1902, the southern part of Africa that is now South Africa was under the hegemony of Great Britain. There also were two self-proclaimed independent states: Transvaal (also known as the South African Republic), and the Orange Free State. The British and the Boers fought two wars, known as the First Boer War (1880–1881) and the Second Boer War (1899–1902); after the second war, in which the British prevailed, both republics were incorporated into the British Empire. On May 31, 1910, the two ex-republics and the British colonies of the Cape and Natal formed the Union of South Africa, a self-governing dominion of the British Empire.
The United States appointed its first envoy to South Africa, Ralph J. Totten, in 1929. He was appointed as Minister Resident/Consul General and promoted to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary the following year.
South Africa was renamed the Republic of South Africa on May 31, 1961, after links to the British crown were severed.

## Ambassadors

* Note: The ambassadors were commissioned to the Union of South Africa until 1961 when South Africa became a republic.
| Name | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission | Notes |
| Ralph J. Totten – Career FSO | Minister Resident/Consul General | December 19, 1929 | February 18, 1930 | June 20, 1930 | |
| Ralph J. Totten – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | June 20, 1930 | September 8, 1930 | April 12, 1937 | |
| Leo J. Keena – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | July 31, 1937 | October 22, 1937 | August 13, 1942 | |
| Lincoln MacVeagh – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | May 21, 1942 | October 21, 1942 | November 21, 1943 | |
| Thomas Holcomb – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | March 21, 1944 | June 14, 1944 | May 30, 1948 | |
| North Winship – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 24, 1948 | June 11, 1948 | December 20, 1949 | The title of the office was changed to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on March 2, 1949. |
| John G. Erhardt – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 23, 1950 | October 4, 1950 | Died at Cape Town, February 18, 1951 | |
| Waldemar J. Gallman – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 22, 1951 | October 18, 1951 | August 15, 1954 | |
| Edward T. Wailes – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 15, 1954 | November 29, 1954 | August 11, 1956 | |
| Henry A. Byroade – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 26, 1956 | October 9, 1956 | January 24, 1959 | |
| Philip K. Crowe – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | February 16, 1959 | April 22, 1959 | April 6, 1961 | |
| Joseph C. Satterthwaite – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | April 6, 1961 | May 22, 1961 | May 31, 1961 | South Africa became a republic on May 31, 1961. This required a new commission for the ambassador. Hereafter ambassadors were commissioned to the Republic of South Africa. |
| Joseph C. Satterthwaite – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 31, 1961 | May 31, 1961 | November 17, 1965 | |
| William M. Rountree – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 20, 1965 | January 8, 1966 | June 5, 1970 | |
| John G. Hurd – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 24, 1970 | September 10, 1970 | April 7, 1975 | |
| William G. Bowdler – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 17, 1975 | May 14, 1975 | April 19, 1978 | |
| William B. Edmondson – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 3, 1978 | June 5, 1978 | July 22, 1981 | |
| Herman W. Nickel – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 29, 1982 | April 20, 1982 | October 4, 1986 | |
| Edward Joseph Perkins – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 16, 1986 | November 27, 1986 | May 22, 1989 | |
| William Lacy Swing – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 7, 1989 | September 8, 1989 | July 5, 1992 | |
| Princeton N. Lyman – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 14, 1992 | September 21, 1992 | December 14, 1995 | |
| James A. Joseph – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 19, 1995 | February 27, 1996 | November 7, 1999 | |
| Delano Lewis – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 16, 1999 | January 21, 2000 | June 22, 2001 | |
| Cameron R. Hume – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 5, 2001 | November 29, 2001 | July 28, 2004 | |
| Jendayi Elizabeth Frazer – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 25, 2004 | August 10, 2004 | August 26, 2005 | |
| Eric M. Bost – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 20, 2006 | August 15, 2006 | January 20, 2009 | |
| Donald Gips - Political Appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 7, 2009 | October 1, 2009 | January 2, 2013 | |
| Patrick Gaspard - Political Appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 26, 2013 | October 16, 2013 | December 16, 2016 | |
| Jessica Lapenn - Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | December 16, 2016 | N/A | September 13, 2019 | |
| Lana Marks - Political Appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 4, 2019 | January 28, 2020 | January 20, 2021 | |
| John Groarke - Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | January 20, 2021 | | March 2021 | |
| Todd P. Haskell - Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | March 2021 | | April 11, 2022 | |
| Heather Merritt - Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | April 11, 2022 | | August 11, 2022 | |
| Reuben Brigety - Political Appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 21, 2022 | August 11, 2022 | January 3, 2025 | |
| Dana M. Brown - Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | January 3, 2025 | | Incumbent | |