Ambassador of Ethiopia to the United States

Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United States of America
Emblem of Ethiopia
Incumbent Ato Girma Birru since 6 January 2011
Style	His Excellency
Residence	2209 Wyoming Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The President of Ethiopia
Inaugural holder	Blatta Ephrem Tewolde Medhin First Envoy Imru Haile Selassie First Ambassador
Formation	1943 Envoys Extraordinary 1949 Ambassadors Extraordinary
Website	Ethiopian Embassy, Washington D.C.

The Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the Ethiopian Embassy, Washington, D.C., Ethiopia's diplomatic mission to the United States, The full and official title is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United States of America.

Girma Birru, who is also accredited to Canada and Mexico, has served as the Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States since January 2011, succeeding Dr Samuel Assefa in that post.

The position of ambassador to the United States is considered to be one of the most important jobs in the Ethiopian diplomatic service, along with the Ambassadors to China, France, the European Union, and the Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

The ambassador's main duty is to present Ethiopian policies to the American government and people, and to report American policies and views to the Government of Ethiopia. He serves as the primary channel of communication between the two nations, and plays an important role in treaty negotiations.

The ambassador is the head of Ethiopia's consular service in the United States. As well as directing diplomatic activity in support of trade, he is ultimately responsible for visa services and for the provision of consular support to Ethiopian citizens in America. He also oversees cultural relations between the two countries.

U.S.-Ethiopian relations were established in 1903, after nine days of meetings in Ethiopia between Emperor Menelik II and Robert Peet Skinner, an emissary of President Theodore Roosevelt. This first step was augmented with treaties of arbitration and conciliation signed at Addis Ababa 26 January 1929. These formal relations included a grant of Most Favored Nation status, and were good up to the Fascist occupation in 1935.