Embassy of Lithuania, Washington, D.C.

Last updated
Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C.
Embassy of Lithuania - Washington, D.C.jpg
Embassy of Lithuania in 2023
Embassy of Lithuania, Washington, D.C.
Location Washington, DC, United States
Address2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC.
Coordinates 38°55′26″N77°02′14″W / 38.92389°N 77.03722°W / 38.92389; -77.03722
Ambassador Audra Plepytė

Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C., is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Lithuania to the United States. It is located at 2622 16th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Meridian Hill neighborhood. [1]

Contents

Building

The building was designed by architect George Oakley Totten Jr. It was built in 1909 by Senator John B. Henderson and his wife Mary Foote Henderson. In 1924, Lithuania bought the building for $90,000. [2] It was damaged when a bomb was detonated at the next-door Cuban Interests Section on May 19, 1979. At the time the building was occupied by the Lithuanian diplomatic service acting in conditions of exile. Its meager budget did not allow for extensive repairs. Therefore, Stasys Antanas Bačkis organized a fundraising campaign among Lithuanian Americans and collected about $130,000. The repairs and much needed reconstruction was carried out in 1981–1983. [2]

History

After World War I, Lithuania regained independence from the Russian Empire and opened legations to establish independent diplomatic representation. At the time, the legation was the standard form of diplomatic mission, and only Great Powers established embassies in each other's capitals. Although Lithuania was occupied and incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, its prewar government had instructed its diplomats to maintain an independent presence in exile. After the war, the embassy became the standard form of diplomatic representation, but Lithuania could not receive a U.S. Ambassador since its territory was occupied by the Soviet Union. By 1990, the Baltic legations were the last remaining legations in Washington, D.C. [3] In 1991, an independent Lithuania finally upgraded its legation to an embassy.

Ambassadors

The ambassador of Lithuania in Washington, D.C. is the representative of the Lithuanian government for the US government. [4]

Diplomatic agrément Diplomatic accreditation Ambassador Observations President of Lithuania President of the United States Term end
October 11, 1922Legation opened. Aleksandras Stulginskis Warren G. Harding
October 11, 1922 Voldemaras Vytautas Čarneckis  [ lt ] Chargé d'affaires Aleksandras Stulginskis Warren G. Harding
December 11, 1923 Kazys Bizauskas Chargé d'affaires Aleksandras Stulginskis Calvin Coolidge
August 6, 1924 Kazys Bizauskas Aleksandras Stulginskis Calvin Coolidge
November 2, 1928 Bronius Kazys Balutis Antanas Smetona Calvin Coolidge
August 21, 1935 Povilas Žadeikis Antanas Smetona Franklin D. Roosevelt
May 11, 1957 Juozas Kajeckas  [ lt ] Chargé d'affaires Dwight D. Eisenhower
January 1, 1977 Stasys Antanas Bačkis Chargé d'affaires Jimmy Carter
November 15, 1987 Stasys Lozoraitis Jr. Chargé d'affaires Ronald Reagan
September 2, 1991President Bush announced that the US was prepared to immediately establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Lithuania Vytautas Landsbergis George H. W. Bush
November 5, 1991Dept informed that the Government of Lithuania wished to raise Legation to Embassy Dept agreed Nov 19 Vytautas Landsbergis George H. W. Bush
December 20, 1991March 11, 1992 Stasys Lozoraitis Jr. Vytautas Landsbergis George H. W. Bush
November 24, 1993December 9, 1993 Alfonsas Eidintas Algirdas Brazauskas Bill Clinton
September 30, 1997November 12, 1997 Stasys Sakalauskas Algirdas Brazauskas Bill Clinton
March 7, 2001March 13, 2001 Vygaudas Ušackas Valdas Adamkus George W. Bush
February 26, 2007February 27, 2007 Audrius Brūzga  [ lt ] Valdas Adamkus George W. Bush
August 5, 2010August 10, 2010 Žygimantas Pavilionis Dalia Grybauskaitė Barack Obama
August 6, 2015September 17, 2015 Rolandas Kriščiūnas  [ lt ] Dalia Grybauskaitė Barack Obama July 22, 2019
April 21, 2021May 18, 2021 Audra Plepytė Gitanas Nausėda Joe Biden

[5] [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legation</span> Antiquated type of diplomatic mission with lower rank than an embassy

A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legations were originally the most common form of diplomatic mission, but they fell out of favor after World War II and were upgraded to embassies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latvian diplomatic service in exile</span>

The Latvian diplomatic service in exile was the only governmental body of the Republic of Latvia which continued its activities during the Nazi and Soviet occupation of Latvia during 1940–1991. Latvian diplomats who were stationed in embassies and consulates at the moment of the occupation in 1940, refused to recognize the occupation and return to Soviet Latvia. They continued to formally represent the interests of Latvia in countries that did not recognize the Soviet annexation. After the restoration of Latvian independence in 1991, the diplomats started reporting to the restored Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stasys Lozoraitis Jr.</span> Lithuanian diplomat and politician

Stasys LozoraitisJr. was a Lithuanian diplomat and politician who served as the Head of the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service from 1987 to 1991, Chief Diplomat to the United States 1991 to 1993 and Ambassador to Italy 1993 to 1994. He was a son of the famous diplomat Stasys Lozoraitis (1898–1983) and brother of Kazys Lozoraitis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anatols Dinbergs</span> Latvian diplomat

Anatols Dinbergs was one of the preeminent career diplomats of Latvia. He entered service in Latvia's Foreign Ministry in 1932. Dinbergs remained abroad when the Soviet Union occupied Latvia, serving in the Latvian Legation in Washington, D.C., after World War II ended. Dinbergs assumed the highest diplomatic post, that of chargé d'affaires, in 1970 and represented Latvia's sovereign interests in exile until Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991. As head of the Latvian diplomatic service abroad, Dinbergs was appointed Latvia's first ambassador to the United Nations and subsequently Latvia's first ambassador to the United States. After retirement, he served as Counselor to the Latvian Embassy in Washington, D.C., until his death in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C.</span> Diplomatic mission

The Embassy of Australia in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Commonwealth of Australia to the United States. The chancery is located at 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW on Scott Circle, at the beginning of Embassy Row. The current ambassador is former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Deputy Head of Mission is Paul Myler. The embassy employs more than 250 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embassy of Australia, Moscow</span> Diplomatic mission

The Embassy of Australia in Moscow is the diplomatic mission of Australia to the Russian Federation. The current head of post and Ambassador of Australia to the Russian Federation is John Geering. The embassy serves as the diplomatic mission for Australia to the Russian Federation, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The chancery is located at 10A/2 Podkolokolny Lane in the Tagansky District of Moscow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embassy of the United States, Vienna</span> Diplomatic mission

The Embassy of the United States of America in Vienna is the main United States diplomatic mission to Austria. Since 1947 the embassy building is located on Boltzmanngasse 16, in the Alsergrund district of Vienna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welles Declaration</span> 1940 U.S. diplomatic statement condemning the Soviet occuption of the Baltic states

The Welles Declaration was a diplomatic statement issued on July 23, 1940, by Sumner Welles, the acting US Secretary of State, condemning the June 1940 occupation by the Soviet army of the three Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – and refusing to diplomatically recognize their subsequent annexation into the Soviet Union. It was an application of the 1932 Stimson Doctrine of nonrecognition of international territorial changes that were executed by force and was consistent with US President Franklin Roosevelt's attitude towards violent territorial expansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embassy of Cuba, Washington, D.C.</span> Cuban diplomatic mission in the capital of the United States

The Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of Cuba to the United States of America. It is located at 2630 16th Street Northwest, in the Meridian Hill neighborhood. The building was originally constructed in 1917 as the Cuban embassy, and served in that capacity until the United States severed relations with Cuba in 1961. On July 1, 2015, US President Barack Obama announced the formal restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. The building resumed its role as the Cuban Embassy on July 20, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltic Legations (1940–1991)</span> Missions of exiled Baltic diplomatic services from 1940 to 1991

The Baltic Legations were the missions of the exiled Baltic diplomatic services from 1940 to 1991. After the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in 1940, the Baltic states instructed their diplomats to maintain their countries' legations in several Western capitals. Members of the Estonian diplomatic service, the Latvian diplomatic service and the Lithuanian diplomatic service continued to be recognised as the diplomatic representatives of the independent pre-World War II states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, whose annexation by the Soviet Union was not recognised by the United States, the United Kingdom, or France. The legations provided consular services to exiled citizens of the Baltic states from 1940 to 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of United States diplomatic relations by country</span>

This is a summary history of diplomatic relations of the United States listed by country. The history of diplomatic relations of the United States began with the appointment of Benjamin Franklin as U.S. Minister to France in 1778, even before the U.S. had won its independence from Great Britain in 1783.

The Embassy of the United States in Tallinn, Estonia, is located at the chancery building on Kentmanni Street. This building housed the U.S. legation to Estonia from April 1, 1930 until September 5, 1940. The U.S. Mission to Estonia resumed operations in the same building on February 6, 1992.

The Diplomatic Service of the Republic of Lithuania is the part of the governmental service tasked with enforcing the foreign policy set by the President, the Parliament, and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. The head of the service is the Foreign Minister.

Stasys Antanas Bačkis was a Lithuanian diplomat and civil servant who served as an assistant in the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1930 until 1938, Head of the Lithuanian Embassy in Paris and later Head of the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service in Washington D.C. from 1983 until 1987.

Vincas Balickas was a Lithuanian diplomat. He was the Lithuanian representative to the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1993. Posted to London in 1938, he continued to represent interwar Lithuania despite the Soviet occupation in 1940 thus preserving the state continuity of Lithuania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia–Lithuania relations</span> International relations between Australia and Lithuania

Foreign relations exist between Australia and Lithuania. Australia was among the first countries to re-recognise Lithuania's independence on 27 August 1991. Both countries formally established diplomatic relations on 6 November 1991. Australia is represented in Lithuania through its embassy in Warsaw, Poland. Lithuania has had an embassy in Canberra since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embassy of the United States, Addis Ababa</span> Diplomatic mission

The Embassy of the United States in Addis Ababa is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in Ethiopia.

References

  1. "Embassy.org: The Embassy of Lithuania". www.embassy.org.
  2. 1 2 Jonušauskas, Laurynas (2003). Likimo vedami: Lietuvos diplomatinės tarnybos egzilyje veikla 1940–1991 (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Lietuvos gyventojų genocido ir rezistencijos tyrimo centras. pp. 303–305. ISBN   9986-757-56-8.
  3. U.S. Department of State (February 1990). Diplomatic List. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  4. "The Embassy". Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C. 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  5. Chief of Protocol ,
  6. "Ambassador". Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C. 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2015-02-14.