United States Ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe

The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe comprises two islands in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of central Africa: São Tomé and Príncipe. The islands were uninhabited before the arrival of the Portuguese explorers sometime between 1469 and 1471. During this time the Portuguese navigators explored the islands and decided that it would be a good location for bases to trade with the mainland.

The first successful settlement of São Tomé was established in 1493 by Álvaro Caminha, who received the land as a grant from the crown. Príncipe was settled in 1500 under a similar arrangement. Attracting settlers proved difficult, however, and most of the earliest inhabitants were “undesirables” sent from Portugal, mostly Jews. In time these settlers found the excellent volcanic soil of the region suitable for agriculture, especially the growing of sugar cane.

The cultivation of sugar cane was a labor-intensive process and the Portuguese began to import large numbers of slaves from the mainland. By the mid-16th century the Portuguese settlers had turned the islands into Africa’s foremost exporter of sugar. São Tomé and Príncipe were taken over and administered by the Portuguese crown in 1522 and 1573, respectively.

In the early 19th century, two new cash crops, coffee and cocoa, were introduced. The rich volcanic soils proved well suited to the new cash crop industry, and soon extensive plantations, owned by Portuguese companies or absentee landlords, occupied almost all of the good farmland. By 1908, São Tomé had become the world's largest producer of cocoa, which still is the country's most important crop.

Although Portugal officially abolished slavery in 1876, the practice of forced paid labor continued. Sporadic labor unrest and dissatisfaction continued well into the 20th century, culminating in an outbreak of riots in 1953 in which several hundred African laborers were killed in a clash with their Portuguese rulers.

By the late 1950s, when other emerging nations across the African Continent were demanding independence, a small group of São Toméans had formed the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe "(Movimento de Libertação de São Tomé e Príncipe)" (MLSTP), which eventually established its base in nearby Gabon. Picking up momentum in the 1960s, events moved quickly after the overthrow of the Caetano dictatorship in Portugal in April 1974. The new Portuguese regime was committed to the dissolution of its overseas colonies. In November 1974, their representatives met with the MLSTP in Algiers and worked out an agreement for the transfer of sovereignty. After a period of transitional government, São Tomé and Príncipe achieved independence on July 12, 1975.

The United States immediately recognized the new nation of São Tomé and Príncipe and moved to establish diplomatic relations. On December 11, 1975, the current ambassador to nearby Gabon, Andrew L. Steigman, was given an additional commission to São Tomé and Príncipe, although he remained resident in Libreville, Gabon.

As of 2006, the ambassador to Gabon serves concurrently as the ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe. No mission has been established in São Tomé, the capital of the republic.

Ambassadors

*Andrew L. Steigman – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: June 10, 1975
**Presented credentials: August 9, 1975
**Terminated mission: Left Libreville, August 21, 1977
*Arthur T. Tienken – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: February 3, 1978
**Presented credentials: March 6, 1978
**Terminated mission: Left Libreville, July 19, 1981
*Francis Terry McNamara – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: December 11, 1981
**Presented credentials: January 19, 1982
**Terminated mission: Left Libreville, August 3, 1984
*Larry C. Williamson – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: August 13, 1984
**Presented credentials: November 20, 1984
**Terminated mission: Left Libreville, August 21, 1987
*Warren Clark, Jr. – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: August 10, 1987
**Presented credentials: September 19, 1987
**Terminated mission: Left Libreville, August 24, 1989
*Keith Leveret Wauchope – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: November 6, 1989
**Presented credentials: December 8, 1989
**Terminated mission: Left Libreville, July 13, 1992
*Joseph Charles Wilson IV – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: July 14, 1992
**Presented credentials: September 17, 1992
**Terminated mission: Left Libreville, August 5, 1995
*Elizabeth Raspolic – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: October 3, 1995
**Presented credentials: November 29, 1995
**Terminated mission: Left Libreville July 24, 1998
*James V. Ledesma – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: October 22, 1998
**Presented credentials: December 16, 1998
**Terminated mission: Left Libreville June 18, 2001
*Note: The post was vacant June 2001–June 2002. Thomas F. Daughton served as Chargé d'Affaires "ad interim" in the interval.
*Kenneth Price Moorfield – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: January 30, 2002
**Presented credentials: June 20, 2002
**Terminated mission: 2004(?)
*R. Barrie Walkley – Career FSO
**Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
**Appointed: July 2, 2004
**Presented credentials: November 12, 2004
**Terminated mission: "Incumbent"

References

*São Tomé and Príncipe
*History of São Tomé and Príncipe
* [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/11212.htm United States Dep’t of State: Ambassadors to São Tomé and Príncipe]
* [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5434.htm United States Dep’t of State: Background notes on São Tomé and Príncipe]
*StateDept

ee also

*Ambassadors from the United States

External links

* [http://foia.state.gov/MMS/KOH/key_country.asp?ID=Gabon United States Department of State: Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts: Gabon]
* [http://libreville.usembassy.gov/ U.S. Embassy in Libreville]
* [http://www.state.gov/p/af/ci/tp/ U.S. State Dep’t: São Tomé and Príncipe]
* [http://www.state.gov/p/af/ci/ U.S. State Dep’t: Bureau of African Affairs]