List of ambassadors of the United States to Cape Verde


Cape Verde had been a Portuguese colony for more than 500 years since 1456. In 1974 Portugal and the Cape Verdeans signed an agreement to form a transitional government, and Cape Verde gained full independence from Portugal on July 5, 1975.
The United States recognized Cape Verde and commissioned its first ambassador Melissa F. Wells in 1976. Ambassador Wells was concurrently accredited to Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde while resident at Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. In 1980, an embassy was established in the capital Praia with a chargé d’affaires managing the business of the embassy. Until 1980 one ambassador, resident at Bissau, was concurrently commissioned to Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.

Ambassadors

NameTitleAppointedPresented credentialsTerminated missionNotes
Melissa F. Wells – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiarySeptember 16, 1976November 18, 1976March 23, 1977
Edward Marks – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiarySeptember 15, 1977October 18, 1977July 11, 1980Embassy Praia was established January 28, 1978 with Howard McGowan as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. The ambassador remained in Bissau.
Peter Jon de Vos – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiarySeptember 5, 1980September 24, 1980Left Bissau, March 30, 1983In 1983 the first ambassador was appointed solely accredited to Cape Verde.
John Melvin Yates – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMarch 18, 1983April 26, 1983May 24, 1986
Vernon Dubois Penner, Jr. – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJune 16, 1986July 15, 1986November 21, 1989
Francis Terry McNamara – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryNovember 21, 1989December 23, 1989December 31, 1992
Joseph Monroe Segars – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 14, 1992March 24, 1993March 17, 1996
Lawrence Neal Benedict – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJune 6, 1996July 30, 1996August 11, 1999
Michael D. Metelits – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJuly 7, 1999September 15, 1999July 24, 2002
Donald C. Johnson – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryOctober 3, 2002November 21, 2002April 4, 2005
Roger D. Pierce – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJune 21, 2005September 27, 2005June 9, 2008
Marianne M. Myles – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryJune 6, 2008August 6, 2008August 1, 2011
Dana Brown - Career FSOChargé d'Affaires ad interimAugust 1, 2011UnknownDecember 9, 2011
Adrienne S. O'Neal - Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryOctober 19, 2011December 9, 2011January 31, 2015
Donald Heflin - Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryDecember 18, 2014January 31, 2015September 11, 2018
Jeff Daigle - Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMay 29, 2019September 10, 2019July 3, 2024
Jennifer M. Adams - Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMay 2, 2024September 10, 2024January 16, 2026