United States Ambassador to Estonia

Ambassador of the United States to Estonia
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent James D. Melville, Jr. since December 8, 2015
Nominator	Barack Obama
Inaugural holder	Frederick W.B. Coleman as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Formation	September 20, 1922
Website	U.S. Embassy - Tallinn

This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Estonia.

The United States has maintained continuous official diplomatic relations with Estonia (as well as Latvia and Lithuania) since 1922, when one ambassador, resident in Riga, Latvia, was appointed to all three nations. Relations with the three nations were broken after the Soviet invasion of the republics in 1940 at the beginning of World War II. The United States never recognized the legitimacy of the Soviet occupation of the three Baltic nations, nor the legitimacy of the governments of those states under Soviet occupation. Hence, diplomatic relations were not resumed until 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The U.S. Embassy in Estonia is located in Tallinn.

U.S. diplomatic terms

Note: During Coleman’s tenure as nonresident Minister, the Legation in Tallinn was established on June 30, 1930 with Harry E. Carlson as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.

Note: Soviet forces occupied Tallinn and Riga on June 17, 1940, which effectively ended the U.S. diplomatice presence in those nations. Ambassador Wiley departed Riga on July 25, 1940.

Note: Walter Leonard was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when all U.S. diplomatic officials accredited to Estonia were withdrawn from Tallinn on September 4, 1940. The legation in Tallinn was officially closed, September 5, 1940.

Note: The United States announced its readiness to reestablish relations with Estonia on September 2, 1991. Embassy Tallinn was established on October 2, 1991, with Robert C. Frasure as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. He was subsequently commissioned as Ambassador. The embassy was established in the same building on Kentmanni Street that had been the U.S. legation before the World War II.

Note: The following officers served as chargés d’affaires ad interim: Keith Smith (July–December 1994), and Jon Gundersen (December 1994–August 1995).

Note: Karen B. Decker served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.

Note: Robert Gilchrist served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.