Embassy of Qatar, Washington, D.C. 2.46

The Embassy of Qatar in Washington, D.C. houses Qatar's diplomatic mission to the United States. The chancery is located at 2555 M Street NW on the western edge of the West End near the Georgetown neighborhood.BackgroundUntil 2005, the embassy was located in an office building at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue N.W. For many years the embassy consisted of only two diplomats and a handful of staffers. In recent years, however, Qatar has been working to make itself a banking, business, and tourism centre and this created a need for a larger embassy. So too did the growing strategic partnership between Qatar and the U.S. that has seen large numbers of American forces based in the country. In 2001, Qatar purchased the current building for $13.6 million from Castleton Holdings. The building had previously held law offices. The current ambassador is Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani.