List of ambassadors of the United States to Latvia

Last updated

Ambassador of the United States to Latvia
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Christopher Robinson, U.S. Ambassador.jpg
Incumbent
Christopher T. Robinson
since February 21, 2023
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder Frederick W.B. Coleman
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationSeptember 20, 1922
Website U.S. Embassy - Riga

The United States first established diplomatic relations with the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) in 1922. One ambassador, resident in Riga, Latvia, was appointed to all three nations. Relations with the three nations were broken after the Soviet invasion of the republics in 1940 at the beginning of World War II. The United States never recognized the legitimacy of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, nor the legitimacy of the governments of those states under Soviet occupation. Hence, full diplomatic relations were not resumed until 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Contents

The U.S. Embassy in Latvia is located in Riga.

Ambassadors

NameTitleAppointed Presented credentials Terminated missionNotes
Frederick W. B. Coleman [1] – Political appointeeEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiarySeptember 20, 1922November 13, 1922October 20, 1931
Robert Peet Skinner [1] [2] – Career FSOSeptember 23, 1931January 28, 1932April 29, 1933
John Van Antwerp MacMurray [1] [3] – Career FSOAugust 28, 1933December 13, 1933February 12, 1936
Arthur Bliss Lane [1] – Career FSOJanuary 24, 1936July 2, 1936September 16, 1937
John C. Wiley [4] [5] – Career FSOJuly 18, 1938October 6, 1938June 17, 1940
Soviet forces occupied Riga on June 17, 1940, which effectively ended the U.S. diplomatic presence in those nations. Ambassador Wiley departed Riga on July 25, 1940. [6] Earl L. Packer was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when all U.S. diplomatic officials were withdrawn and the legation in Riga was officially closed on September 5, 1940. Semi-official diplomatic relations continue until 1992 through the Latvian Diplomatic Service.
The United States announced its readiness to reestablish full relations with Latvia on September 2, 1991. [7] Embassy Riga was reestablished October 2, 1991 with Ints M. Siliņš as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim pending his appointment as ambassador.
Ints Siliņš – Career FSOAmbassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryMarch 23, 1992April 10, 1992July 14, 1995
Larry C. Napper – Career FSOJune 27, 1995August 1, 1995October 1, 1998
James Howard Holmes – Career FSOAugust 4, 1998August 27, 1998September 15, 2001
Brian E. Carlson – Career FSONovember 5, 2001December 4, 2001December 6, 2004
Catherine Todd Bailey – Political appointeeNovember 29, 2004 [8] February 4, 2005February 4, 2008
Charles W. Larson, Jr. – Political appointeeJanuary 7, 2008February 12, 2008January 20, 2009 [9]
Judith G. Garber – Career FSOAugust 14, 2009August 25, 2009July 9, 2012
Mark Pekala – Career FSOJuly 10, 2012September 4, 2012August 7, 2014
Nancy Pettit – Career FSOJuly 29, 2015September 8, 2015July 14, 2019
John Carwile – Career FSOSeptember 30, 2019November 5, 2019January 27, 2023 [10]
Christopher T. Robinson - Career FSODecember 13, 2022February 21, 2023Incumbent

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 The ambassador was simultaneously accredited to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, while resident in Riga, Latvia.
  2. ↑ Skinner was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1931.
  3. ↑ MacMurray was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 15, 1934.
  4. ↑ The ambassador was simultaneously accredited to Estonia and Latvia, while resident in Riga.
  5. ↑ Wiley was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 20, 1939.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Diplomatic Representatives to Estonia, 1919-1940" (PDF). U.S. Embassy in Estonia.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ "History of the U.S. and Estonia". U.S. Embassy in Estonia. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  8. ↑ An earlier nomination of September 8, 2004 was not acted upon by the Senate.
  9. ↑ "Charles W. Larson Jr. - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
  10. ↑ "U.S. Ambassador Carwile bids a fond farewell to Latvia".

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

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

Foreign relations exist between Australia and Latvia. Australia first recognised Latvia on 22 September 1921 and was among the first countries to re-recognise Latvia's independence on 27 August 1991. Both countries re-established diplomatic relations on 21 November 1991. Australia is represented in Latvia through its embassy in Stockholm, Sweden and an honorary consulate in Riga. Latvia has had an embassy in Canberra since October 2021, and also has honorary consulates in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth.

<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 and an honorary consulate in Vilnius. Lithuania has had an embassy in Canberra since 2021, and also has honorary consulates in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Darwin.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.