# List of ambassadors of the United States to Austria

This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Austria.
The United States first established diplomatic relations with Austria in 1838 during the time of the Austrian Empire. Relations between the United States have been continuous since that time except for two interruptions during World War I and World War II.
The first ambassadors were accredited to the Austrian Empire. In 1867 the empire became Austria-Hungary and the ambassadors were so commissioned. After the resumption of diplomatic relations following World War I, the ambassadors were commissioned to Austria.
For ambassadors to Hungary after the dissolution of the empire, see United States Ambassador to Hungary.
The United States Embassy in Austria is located in Vienna.

## Ambassadors

| # | Name | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission | Notes |
| 1 | Henry A. P. Muhlenberg | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | February 8, 1838 | November 7, 1838 | Left post, September 18, 1840 | |
| 2 | Daniel Jenifer | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | August 27, 1841 | March 30, 1842 | Presented recall, June 28–July 7, 1845 | From 1845 until 1854 there was no U.S. minister present. The U.S. was represented by a succession of chargés d’affaires. |
| - | William H. Stiles | Chargé d'affaires | April 19, 1845 | August 5, 1845 | Left post, August 1, 1849 | |
| - | James Watson Webb | Chargé d'affaires | November 1, 1849 | February 6, 1850 | Left post, May 8, 1850 | |
| - | Charles J. McCurdy | Chargé d'affaires | September 27, 1850 | March 14, 1851 | October 12, 1852 | |
| - | Thomas M. Foote | Chargé d'affaires | September 16, 1852 | December 14, 1852 | Presented recall, June 25, 1853 | |
| - | Henry R. Jackson | Chargé d'affaires | May 24, 1853 | September 16, 1853 | Promoted to Minister Resident | |
| 3 | Henry R. Jackson | Minister Resident | June 29, 1854 | September 28, 1854 | on or after June 1, 1858 | |
| 4 | J. Glancy Jones | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | December 15, 1858 | February 14, 1859 | Presented recall, November 14, 1861 | |
| 5 | J. Lothrop Motley | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | August 10, 1861 | November 14, 1861 | June 14, 1867 | President Andrew Johnson nominated eight men to be ambassador to Austria, but the Senate rejected or declined to consider them, most likely because of the President's disputes with the Congress over other issues. |
| 6 | Henry M. Watts | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | July 25, 1868 | September 25, 1868 | Presented recall, June 1, 1869 | |
| 7 | John Jay II | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | 1869 | June 1, 1869 | Presented recall, March 31, 1875 | Ambassadors after 1869 were commissioned to Austria-Hungary. |
| 8 | Godlove S. Orth | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | March 9, 1875 | May 24, 1875 | Relinquished charge, March 10, 1876 | |
| 9 | Edward F. Beale | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | June 1, 1876 | August 10, 1876 | Left post, April 20, 1877 | |
| 10 | John A. Kasson | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | 11, 1877 | August 30, 1877 | Presented recall, March 25, 1881 | |
| 11 | William Walter Phelps | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | May 5, 1881 | June 20, 1881 | Superseded June 30, 1882 | |
| 12 | Alphonso Taft | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | April 26, 1882 | June 30, 1882 | Left post, August 25, 1884 | |
| 13 | John M. Francis | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | July 4, 1884 | September 11, 1884 | Presented recall, August 3, 1885 | |
| 14 | Alexander R. Lawton | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | April 15, 1887 | August 25, 1887 | May 15, 1889 | |
| 15 | Frederick D. Grant | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | March 23, 1889 | May 15, 1889 | Presented recall, June 8, 1893 | |
| 16 | Bartlett Tripp | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | April 6, 1893 | June 8, 1893 | Presented recall, June 18, 1897 | |
| 17 | Charlemagne Tower | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | April 1, 1897 | June 18, 1897 | Had farewell audience, February 9, 1899 | |
| 18 | Addison C. Harris | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | January 12, 1899 | April 13, 1899 | Presented recall, April 29, 1901 | |
| 19 | Robert S. McCormick | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | March 7, 1901 | April 29, 1901 | Promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | From 1902 to 1917 ambassadors to Austria bore the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. |
| 19 | Robert S. McCormick | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 27, 1902 | June 26, 1902 | Presented recall, December 29, 1902 | |
| 20 | Bellamy Storer | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 26, 1902 | January 3, 1903 | Left post, February 8, 1906 | |
| 21 | Charles Spencer Francis | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 22, 1906 | May 29, 1906 | Presented recall, April 1, 1910 | |
| 22 | Richard C. Kerens | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 21, 1909 | April 12, 1910 | Left post, June 28, 1913 | |
| 23 | Frederic Courtland Penfield – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 28, 1913 | September 26, 1913 | Left post, April 7, 1917 | The United States declared war on Germany April 6, 1917. Ambassador Penfield departed Austria the following day, April 7. Austria-Hungary severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 9. Joseph C. Grew was serving as Chargé d'affaires ad interim when Austria-Hungary severed relations. Although a date is not recorded, the embassy would have been closed almost immediately and all diplomatic personnel would have departed or been expelled. Normal diplomatic relations were resumed in 1921. |
| - | Arthur Hugh Frazier – Career FSO | Chargé d'affaires pro tem | Not commissioned | November 25, 1921 | Left post, May 21, 1922 | After resumption of diplomatic relations, the embassy was downgraded to a legation and the title of the chief of mission was downgraded to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and remained as such until 1952. |
| 24 | Albert Henry Washburn – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | February 10, 1922 | June 19, 1922 | Died at post, April 29, 1930 | |
| 25 | Gilchrist Baker Stockton – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | January 22, 1930 | May 15, 1930 | Left post, September 21, 1933 | |
| 26 | George Howard Earle III – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | July 24, 1933 | September 27, 1933 | Left post, March 25, 1934 | |
| 27 | George S. Messersmith – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | April 7, 1934 | May 23, 1934 | Left post, July 11, 1937 | |
| 28 | Grenville T. Emmet – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | July 13, 1937 | September 14, 1937 | Died at post, September 26, 1937 | John C. Wiley was serving as Chargé d'affaires ad interim when Austria was annexed to Germany, March 13, 1938; he closed the legation in Vienna, April 30, 1938. Diplomatic relations with Austria were broken during World War II but resumed in 1946. |
| 29 | John G. Erhardt – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | August 3, 1946 | September 7, 1946 | Left post, June 27, 1950 | |
| 30 | Walter J. Donnelly – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 20, 1950 | October 25, 1950 | Left post, July 19, 1952 | In 1951 the legation in Vienna was upgraded to an embassy and the chief of mission gained the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. |
| 31 | Llewellyn E. Thompson, Jr. – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 17, 1952 | September 4, 1952 | July 9, 1957 | |
| 32 | H. Freeman Matthews – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 5, 1957 | September 4, 1957 | Left post, May 25, 1962 | |
| 33 | James Williams Riddleberger – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 23, 1962 | December 12, 1962 | Left post, May 10, 1967 | |
| 34 | Douglas MacArthur II – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | April 5, 1967 | May 24, 1967 | Left post, September 16, 1969 | |
| 35 | John P. Humes – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 26, 1969 | October 29, 1969 | Left post, March 6, 1975 | |
| 36 | Wiley T. Buchanan, Jr. – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 25, 1975 | April 2, 1975 | Left post, March 31, 1977 | |
| 37 | Milton A. Wolf – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | June 23, 1977 | September 5, 1977 | Left post, March 2, 1980 | |
| 38 | Philip M. Kaiser – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | February 19, 1980 | March 25, 1980 | Left post, March 2, 1981 | |
| 39 | Theodore E. Cummings – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | June 20, 1981 | September 2, 1981 | Died March 30, 1982 | |
| 40 | Helene A. von Damm – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 10, 1983 | June 22, 1983 | January 15, 1986 | |
| 41 | Ronald S. Lauder – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | April 16, 1986 | May 7, 1986 | October 27, 1987 | |
| 42 | Henry Anatole Grunwald – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 23, 1987 | January 20, 1988 | January 1, 1990 | |
| 43 | Roy M. Huffington – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 6, 1990 | September 11, 1990 | March 1, 1993 | |
| 44 | Swanee Grace Hunt – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 4, 1993 | December 16, 1993 | October 18, 1997 | |
| 45 | Kathryn Walt Hall – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 19, 1997 | December 11, 1997 | July 10, 2001 | |
| 46 | Lyons Brown, Jr. – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 5, 2001 | December 19, 2001 | October 5, 2005 | |
| 47 | Susan Rasinski McCaw – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 2, 2005 | January 9, 2006 | November 25, 2007 | |
| 48 | David F. Girard-diCarlo – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 1, 2008 | September 10, 2008 | January 20, 2009 | |
| 49 | William Eacho – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 12, 2009 | September 14, 2009 | August 3, 2013 | |
| 50 | Alexa L. Wesner – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 6, 2013 | October 22, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | |
| - | Eugene S. Young – Career FSO | Chargée d’affaires a.i. | | January 20, 2017 | May 24, 2018 | |
| 51 | Trevor Traina – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 28, 2018 | May 24, 2018 | January 20, 2021 | |
| - | Robin Dunnigan – Career FSO | Chargé d’affaires a.i. | | January 20, 2021 | July 12, 2021 | |
| - | Mario Mesquita – Career FSO | Chargé d’affaires a.i. | | July 12, 2021 | January 12, 2022 | |
| 52 | Victoria Reggie Kennedy | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 16, 2021 | January 12, 2022 | January 20, 2025 |
| - | Kami Witmer – Career FSO | Chargé d’affaires a.i. | | January 20, 2025 | Incumbent | |