United States Ambassador to Latvia
Encyclopedia
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, diplomatic relations were not resumed until 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The U.S. Embassy in Latvia is located in Riga
.
Note: 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.
Note: 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was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when all U.S. diplomatic officials were withdrawn and the legation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.
Note: The United States announced its readiness to reestablish relations with Latvia on September 2, 1991. Embassy Riga was established October 2, 1991 with Ints M. Silins as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim pending his appointment as ambassador.
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
(Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
) in 1922. One ambassador, resident in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, 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, diplomatic relations were not resumed until 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The U.S. Embassy in Latvia is located in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
.
Ambassadors
- Name: Frederick W.B. Coleman – Political appointee
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 20, 1922
- Presented credentials: November 13, 1922
- Terminated mission: Left post October 20, 1931
- Name: Robert P. Skinner – Career FSO
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 23, 1931
- Presented credentials: January 28, 1932
- Terminated mission: Left post April 29, 1933
- Name: John Van. A. MacMurray – Career FSO
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 28, 1933
- Presented credentials: December 13, 1933
- Terminated mission: Left post February 12, 1936
- Name: Arthur Bliss LaneArthur Bliss LaneArthur Bliss Lane was the United States Ambassador to Poland .- Biography :Lane was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He was appointed U.S. Minister to Nicaragua ; Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania ; Kingdom of Yugoslavia, ; and Costa Rica . He was then appointed U.S...
– Career FSO- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: January 24, 1936
- Presented credentials: July 2, 1936
- Terminated mission: Left post September 16, 1937
- Name: Frederick A. Sterling – Career FSO
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 9, 1937
- Presented credentials: —
- Terminated mission: —
- Name: John C. Wiley – Career FSO
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 18, 1938
- Presented credentials: October 6, 1938
- Terminated mission: June 17, 1940
Note: 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.
Note: Earl L. Packer
Earl L. Packer
Earl Le Noir Packer served as the first Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Burma from September 19, 1947 when Embassy Rangoon was established, to October 17, 1947.-External links:...
was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when all U.S. diplomatic officials were withdrawn and the legation
Legation
A legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....
in Riga was officially closed on September 5, 1940.
Note: The United States announced its readiness to reestablish relations with Latvia on September 2, 1991. Embassy Riga was established October 2, 1991 with Ints M. Silins as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim pending his appointment as ambassador.
- Name: Ints M. Silins – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: March 23, 1992
- Presented credentials: April 10, 1992
- Terminated mission: Left post July 14, 1995
- Name: Larry C. NapperLarry C. NapperLarry C. Napper served as the United States Ambassador to Latvia from 1995 to 1998 and as the U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan from 2001 to 2004....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 27, 1995
- Presented credentials: August 1, 1995
- Terminated mission: Left post October 1, 1998
- Name: James Howard HolmesJames Howard HolmesJames Howard Holmes was born April 1, 1943, the second son of the Rev. Robert Usher and Bertha Jeannette Cook Holmes. He is a 1965 graduate of Colgate University, as well as, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and the National War College...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 4, 1998
- Presented credentials: August 27, 1998
- Terminated mission: Left post September 15, 2001
- Name: Brian E. Carlson – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 5, 2001
- Presented credentials: December 4, 2001
- Terminated mission: Left post December 6, 2004
- Name: Catherine Todd Bailey – Political appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 29, 2004
- Presented credentials: February 4, 2005
- Terminated mission: c. December 2007
- Name: Charles W. Larson, Jr. – Political appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: January 7, 2008
- Presented credentials: February 12, 2008
- Terminated mission: June 2009
- Name: Judith G. Garber – Political appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 14, 2009
- Presented credentials: August 25, 2009
- Terminated mission: Incumbent
See also
- Latvia – United States relations
- Foreign relations of LatviaForeign relations of LatviaToday's Republic of Latvia regards itself as a continuation of the 1918-1940 republic.After the declaration on the restoration of its full independence on August 21, 1991, Latvia became a member of the United Nations on September 17, 1991, and is a signatory to a number of UN organizations and...
- Ambassadors of the United States