UN ambassador and national security advisor John R. Bolton has publicly opposed the granting of Cabinet-level status to the office, stating "One, it overstates the role and importance the U.N. should have in U.S. foreign policy, second, you shouldn't have two secretaries in the same department". List of ambassadors Status The following is a chronological list of those who have held the office: List of deputy ambassadors The United States deputy ambassador to the United Nations serves as the second most senior American diplomat before the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council in New York and carries the diplomatic rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. In the absence of the ambassador, the deputy serves in his or her place. Ernest A. Gross - October 11, 1949 – 1953 James J. Wadsworth† February 28, 1953 – 1960 Charles W. Yost† - February 13, 1961 – 1966 William B. Buffum - January 1967 – 1970 W. Tapley Bennett Jr. - 1971–1977 James F. Leonard - 1977–1979 William vanden Heuvel - 1979–1981 Kenneth L. Adelman - confirmed July 29, 1981 – 1983 José S. Sorzano - confirmed July 26, 1983 – 1985 Herbert S. Okun - confirmed October 1, 1985 (following a recess appointment) – 1989 Alexander F. Watson - confirmed August 4, 1989 – 1992 Edward S. Walker Jr. - confirmed October 8, 1992 – 1993 Skip Gnehm - April 1994 – August 1997 Peter Burleigh - August 1997 – December 1999 James B. Cunningham - December 12, 1999 – July 2004 Anne W. Patterson - August 2004 – August 2005 Alejandro Daniel Wolff - November 2005 – June 2010 Rosemary DiCarlo - July 8, 2010 – c. November 1, 2014 Michele J. Sison - December 7, 2014 – February 21, 2018 Kelley Eckels Currie (acting) - February 21, 2018 – June 8, 2018 Jonathan Cohen - June 8, 2018 – November 17, 2019 Taryn Frideres - October 2019 - February 25, 2021 Richard M. Mills Jr. - November 9, 2020 – present Jeffrey Prescott - February 25, 2021 – present †These deputy ambassadors later served as full U.S. ambassador to the United Nations position (see above). See also Diplomatic Security Service Residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Notes References External links United Nations United States United States and the United Nations United States diplomacy