Office of the Historian

A Guide to the United States’ History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Summary

Present-day Saint Vincent was ceded to Great Britain in 1763 and was briefly under French rule from 1779 until 1796. Following a return to British rule, Saint Vincent passed through a variety of stages as a colony and Commonwealth state. After a 1979 referendum it eventually became the last of the Windward Islands to achieve independence.

Today the United States and Saint Vincent have solid bilateral relations. Both countries have signed a series of treaties combating the cultivation and shipment of narcotics.

Modern Flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Recognition

U.S. Recognition of St. Vincent’s Independence, 1981.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines achieved full independence on October 27, 1979. The United States had previously informally recognized St. Vincent as a federated state in the British Commonwealth but did not formally recognize its independence until the appointment of Milan D. Bish as American Ambassador to Saint Vincent on November 23, 1981.

Consular Presence

The United States maintains no official presence in St. Vincent. The Ambassador and Embassy officers are resident in Barbados and frequently travel to St. Vincent.

Diplomatic Relations

U.S. Special Representative to Saint Vincent Appointed, 1977.

Frank V. Oritz, Jr. was appointed United States Special Representative to the States of Antigua, Dominica, St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent on September 1, 1977. The appointment was concurrent to his positions as Ambassador to Barbados and to Grenada.

Diplomatic Relations Established, 1981.

Diplomatic relations were established on December 8, 1981, when St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ambassador Hudson Kemul Tannis presented his credentials. American Ambassador Milan D. Bish presented his credentials in Bridgetown that same day. He was concurrently Ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, and St. Lucia and Special Representative to Saint Christopher and Nevis. All U.S. ambassadors to St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been resident at Bridgetown.

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