Embassy of Cameroon

Story

The Residence of the Embassy of Cameroon in Washington, D.C., also known as the Christian Hauge House, is the official residence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Cameroon to the United States. In 2009, the Embassy vacated the building temporarily to allow for a major renovation of the property, and relocated for the meantime to 1700 Wisconsin Ave, N.W., then to its current location at 3400 International Drive N.W.The current ambassador of Cameroon to the United States is Joseph Bienvenu Charles Foe-Atangana.BuildingConstruction of the Christian Hauge House began in 1906 and was designed by George Oakley Totten, Jr. The house was commissioned by Hauge, a diplomat from Norway. Hauge died in 1907, never seeing his mansion completed. His wife lived in the house until 1927.While under Cameroon ownership, the Christian Hauge House has fallen into sever dereliction. Residents of the neighborhood describe what has happened as "African Embassy Blight", a seemingly common phenomenon where African countries purchase premier Kalorama homes and then allow them to deteriorate. A similar outcome can be seen in the Zambian embassy 50 ft away.As of April 11, 2016, The president of the Republic of Cameroon just appointed a new Ambassador to Washington DC. Mr. Henri Etoundi Essomba formerly Cameroon's Ambassador to Israel to replace Mr. Bienvenu Foe Atangana.