# List of ambassadors of the United States to Hungary

This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Hungary.
Until 1867 Hungary had been part of the Austrian Empire, when the empire became Austria-Hungary. Hungary had no separate diplomatic relations with other nations. The United States had diplomatic relations with the empire and Austria-Hungary through the legation in Vienna.
The empire was dissolved following World War I, and the United States established separate diplomatic relations with Austria and Hungary in 1921, reopening the embassy in Vienna and establishing a legation in Budapest. Ulysses Grant-Smith opened the U.S. legation on December 26, 1921, and remained the chief of mission as chargé d'affaires until an ambassador was commissioned the following year.
For ambassadors to Austria-Hungary prior to the dissolution of the empire, see United States Ambassador to Austria.
The United States Embassy in Hungary is located on Szabadság tér (Liberty Square) in the Pest part of Budapest.

## Ambassadors

| Name | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission | Notes |
| Ulysses Grant-Smith – Career FSO | Chargé d'Affaires pro tem | Not commissioned | January 24, 1922 | April 28, 1922 | |
| Theodore Brentano – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | February 10, 1922 | May 16, 1922 | Presented recall, May 6, 1927 | |
| J. Butler Wright – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | February 26, 1927 | June 18, 1927 | Presented recall, October 24, 1930 | |
| Nicholas Roosevelt – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | September 29, 1930 | November 12, 1930 | May 9, 1933 | |
| John Flournoy Montgomery – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | June 13, 1933 | August 1, 1933 | March 17, 1941 | |
| Herbert Claiborne Pell – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | February 11, 1941 | May 20, 1941 | January 16, 1942 | |
| Hungary severed diplomatic relations with the United States on December 11, 1941, the day the United States declared war on Germany. Hungary declared war on the United States two days later. Pell closed the legation and departed Hungary on January 16, 1942. The United States and Hungary established normal diplomatic relations again after the war ended in 1945. ||||||
| H.F. Arthur Schoenfeld – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | December 15, 1945 | January 26, 1946 | June 1, 1947 | |
| Selden Chapin – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | April 10, 1947 | July 9, 1947 | February 17, 1949 | |
| Nathaniel P. Davis – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | September 1, 1949 | October 21, 1949 | May 18, 1951 | |
| Christian M. Ravndal – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | October 3, 1951 | January 11, 1952 | August 5, 1956 | |
| Edward T. Wailes – Career FSO | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | July 26, 1956 | Did not present credentials | left post, February 27, 1957 | Ambassador Wailes had been commissioned as ambassador during the Imre Nagy regime in Hungary, prior to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. He arrived in Hungary on November 2, 1956, shortly after the new János Kádár government had been installed. Wailes refused to present his credentials to the new government, stating that the government "did not represent the people." Shortly thereafter he was "recalled for consultations" and he left Hungary on February 27, 1957. |
| Garret G. Ackerson Jr. | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | July 1957 | Unknown | February 1961 | |
| Horace G. Torbert Jr. | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | February 1961 | Unknown | December 1962 | |
| Owen T. Jones | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | December 1962 | Unknown | July 1964 | |
| Elim O'Shaughnessy | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | November 1964 | Unknown | September 1966 | |
| Richard W. Tims | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | September 1966 | Unknown | October 1967 | |
| Martin J. Hillenbrand – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | September 13, 1967 | October 30, 1967 | February 15, 1969 | Legation upgraded to embassy; title upgraded to "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary". |
| Alfred Puhan – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 1, 1969 | June 16, 1969 | July 9, 1973 | |
| Richard F. Pedersen – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 24, 1973 | September 10, 1973 | March 26, 1975 | |
| Eugene V. McAuliffe – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 25, 1975 | April 28, 1975 | April 15, 1976 | |
| Philip M. Kaiser – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 7, 1977 | August 4, 1977 | March 9, 1980 | |
| Harry E. Bergold Jr. – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 3, 1980 | March 31, 1980 | November 9, 1983 | |
| Nicolas M. Salgo – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | October 7, 1983 | November 23, 1983 | August 1, 1986 | |
| Robie Marcus Hooker Palmer – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | July 24, 1986 | December 8, 1986 | January 31, 1990 | |
| Charles H. Thomas – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | June 27, 1990 | July 2, 1990 | January 11, 1994 | |
| Donald M. Blinken – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 28, 1994 | April 1, 1994 | November 20, 1997 | |
| Peter Francis Tufo – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | November 10, 1997 | December 3, 1997 | March 1, 2001 | |
| Nancy Goodman Brinker – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 7, 2001 | September 26, 2001 | June 19, 2003 | |
| George H. Walker III – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | August 4, 2003 | October 6, 2003 | August 6, 2006 | |
| April H. Foley – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | May 30, 2006 | August 18, 2006 | April 2, 2009 | |
| Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | January 7, 2010 | January 11, 2010 | July 20, 2013 | |
| M. André Goodfriend | Chargé d’Affaires ad interim | August 18, 2013 | n/a | January 20, 2015 | |
| Colleen Bradley Bell – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | December 14, 2014 | January 21, 2015 | January 20, 2017 | |
| David Kostelancik | Chargé d’Affaires ad interim | January 20, 2017 | "n/a" | June 22, 2018 | |
| David B. Cornstein – Political appointee | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | February 13, 2018 | June 22, 2018 | October 30, 2020 | |
| Marc Dillard | Chargé d’Affaires ad interim | October 30, 2020 | n/a | August 10, 2022 | |
| B. Bix Aliu | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | August 10, 2022 | n/a | September 14, 2022 | Served as Chargé d'Affaires until the arrival of the appointed Ambassador, David Pressman. |
| David Pressman – Career FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | Aug 8, 2022 | September 14, 2022 | January 13, 2025 | |
| David Holmes | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | January 13, 2025 | n/a | March 7, 2025 | |
| Robert Palladino | Chargé d'Affaires ad interim | March 7, 2025 | n/a | Incumbent | |