# List of ambassadors of the United States to Botswana

From 1885 until 1966 the area of Southern Africa that is now Botswana was part of the Bechuanaland Protectorate of Great Britain.
In June 1964, Britain accepted proposals for democratic self-government in Botswana. The seat of government was moved from Mahikeng in South Africa, to newly established in Gaberones (now Gaborone) in 1965. The 1965 constitution led to the first general elections and to independence on 30 September 1966.
The United States immediately recognized the new nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. An embassy in Gaberones was established on 30 September 1966—independence day for Botswana. Charles H. Pletcher was appointed as Chargé d'affaires ad interim pending the appointment of an ambassador. He served June 1970–September 1971.

## Ambassadors

* Note: Charles H. Pletcher served as chargé d'affaires September 1966–June 1970. W. Kennedy Cromwell III
| Name | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission | Notes |
| Charles J. Nelson – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 9 June 1971 | 3 November 1971 | Left Gaborone, 2 March 1974 | |
| David B. Bolen – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 28 February 1974 | 22 April 1974 | Left Gaborone, 11 August 1976 | |
| Donald R. Norland – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 17 November 1976 | 23 February 1978 | Left Gaborone, 8 September 1979 | In 1979 the first ambassador was appointed solely for Botswana. |
| Horace Dawson – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 12 October 1979 | 27 November 1979 | 27 August 1982 | |
| Theodore C. Maino – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 30 September 1982 | 2 December 1982 | 6 September 1985 | |
| Natale H. Bellocchi – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 28 October 1985 | 19 November 1985 | 16 September 1988 | |
| John Florian Kordek – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 11 August 1988 | 29 September 1988 | 1 November 1989 | |
| David Passage – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 27 June 1990 | 7 August 1990 | 29 April 1993 | |
| Howard Franklin Jeter – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 16 July 1993 | 9 September 1993 | 21 June 1996 | |
| Robert Krueger – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 6 June 1996 | 23 July 1996 | 6 December 1999 | |
| John E. Lange – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 16 November 1999 | 15 December 1999 | 8 August 2002 | |
| Joseph Huggins – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 15 November 2002 | 28 January 2003 | 26 July 2005 | |
| Katherine H. P. Canavan – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 2 August 2005 | 27 September 2005 | 27 June 2008 | |
| Stephen J. Nolan – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 23 June 2008 | 6 October 2008 | 13 June 2011 | |
| Michelle D. Gavin – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 18 April 2011 | 20 June 2011 | 22 February 2014 | |
| Earl Robert Miller – Foreign Service Specialist | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 2014 | 18 December 2014 | 24 September 2018 | |
| Craig L. Cloud - Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 7 January 2019 | 2 April 2019 | 24 May 2022 | |
| Howard Van Vranken - Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | 21 December 2022 | 24 May 2023 | Incumbent | |