United States Ambassador to Lithuania
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Lithuania
.
The United States first established diplomatic relations with the Baltic states
(Lithuania
, Latvia
, 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 Lithuania is located in Vilnius
.
Note: During Coleman’s tenure as non-resident Minister, the legation
in Kovno (later Kaunas
) was established on May 31, 1930, with Hugh S. Fullerton as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.
Note: Soviet forces occupied Kaunas on June 15, 1940, which effectively ended the U.S. diplomatic presence in Lithuania. Ambassador Norem departed Kaunas on July 30, 1940.
Note: Bernard Gufler was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when all U.S. diplomatic officials were withdrawn and the legation
in Kaunas was officially closed on September 5, 1940.
Note: The United States resumed diplomatic relations with Lithuania on September 2, 1991. Embassy Vilnius was established October 2, 1991 with Darryl N. Johnson as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim pending his appointment as ambassador.
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...
.
The United States first established diplomatic relations with the Baltic states
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...
(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...
, 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...
, 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 Lithuania is located in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
.
Ambassadors
- Name: Frederick W.B. Coleman – Political appointee
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 20, 1922
- Presented credentials: December 5, 1922
- Terminated mission: Left Riga October 20, 1931
Note: During Coleman’s tenure as non-resident Minister, 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 Kovno (later Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
) was established on May 31, 1930, with Hugh S. Fullerton as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.
- Name: Robert P. Skinner – Career FSO
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 23, 1931
- Presented credentials: February 13, 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 20, 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: June 24, 1936
- Terminated mission: Left post September 16, 1937
- Owen J.C. Norem – Political appointee
- Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 23, 1937
- Presented credentials: November 26, 1937
- Terminated mission: June 15, 1940
Note: Soviet forces occupied Kaunas on June 15, 1940, which effectively ended the U.S. diplomatic presence in Lithuania. Ambassador Norem departed Kaunas on July 30, 1940.
Note: Bernard Gufler 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 Kaunas was officially closed on September 5, 1940.
Note: The United States resumed diplomatic relations with Lithuania on September 2, 1991. Embassy Vilnius was established October 2, 1991 with Darryl N. Johnson as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim pending his appointment as ambassador.
- Darryl Norman Johnson – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: March 23, 1992
- Presented credentials: April 14, 1992
- Terminated mission: Left post May 23, 1994
- James W. Swihart – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 26, 1994
- Presented credentials: September 26, 1994
- Terminated mission: Left post July 16, 1997
- Keith C. Smith – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 1, 1997
- Presented credentials: September 9, 1997
- Terminated mission: Left post July 29, 2000
- John F. TefftJohn F. TefftJohn F. Tefft is the United States Ambassador to Ukraine. He has been a career Foreign Service Officer for thirty-three years.Tefft is also a former United States Ambassador to Georgia and Lithuania, as well as former Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 14, 2000
- Presented credentials: August 30, 2000
- Terminated mission: Left post May 10, 2003
- Stephen D. Mull – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: April 16, 2003
- Presented credentials: August 26, 2003
- Terminated mission: Left post June 16, 2006
- John A. Cloud, Jr.John CloudJohn A. Cloud is a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and former ambassador for the United States of America to the Republic of Lithuania....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: May 30, 2006
- Presented credentials: August 17, 2006
- Terminated mission: January 20, 2009
- Anne E. DerseAnne E. DerseAnne Elizabeth Derse is the current US Ambassador to Lithuania since September 28, 2009.-Education and personal life:...
- Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: September 28, 2009
- Presented credentials: October 14, 2009
- Terminated mission: Incumbent
See also
- Lithuania – United States relations
- Foreign relations of LithuaniaForeign relations of LithuaniaLithuania became a member of the United Nations on September 18, 1991, and is a signatory to a number of its organizations and other international agreements. It is also a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO and its adjunct North Atlantic Coordinating Council,...
- Ambassadors of the United States