Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C.
The 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 Adams Morgan neighborhood.
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. 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.History
After World War I, Lithuania became independent 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 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 controlled by the Soviet Union. By 1990, the Baltic legations were the last remaining legations in Washington, D.C. In 1991, an independent Lithuania finally upgraded its legation to an embassy.Ambassadors
The Lithuanian ambassador in Washington, D. C. is the official representative of the Government in Vilnius to the Government of the United States.Diplomatic agrément | Diplomatic accreditation | ambassador | Observations | President of Lithuania | President of the United States | Term end |
LEGATION OPENED | Aleksandras Stulginskis | Warren G. Harding | ||||
Chargé d'affaires | Aleksandras Stulginskis | Warren G. Harding | ||||
Kazys Bizauskas | Chargé d'affaires | Aleksandras Stulginskis | Calvin Coolidge | |||
Kazys Bizauskas | Aleksandras Stulginskis | Calvin Coolidge | ||||
Bronius Kazys Balutis | Antanas Smetona | Calvin Coolidge | ||||
Povilas Žadeikis | Antanas Smetona | Franklin D. Roosevelt | ||||
Chargé d'affaires | - | Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||||
Stasys Antanas Bačkis | Chargé d'affaires | - | Jimmy Carter | |||
Stasys Lozoraitis | Chargé d'affaires | - | Ronald Reagan | |||
President Bush announced that the US was prepared to immediately establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Lithuania | Vytautas Landsbergis | George H. W. Bush | ||||
Dept informed that the Government of Lithuania wished to raise Legation to Embassy Dept agreed Nov 19 | Vytautas Landsbergis | George H. W. Bush | ||||
Stasys Lozoraitis | Vytautas Landsbergis | George H. W. Bush | ||||
Alfonsas Eidintas | Algirdas Brazauskas | Bill Clinton | ||||
Algirdas Brazauskas | Bill Clinton | |||||
Vygaudas Ušackas | Valdas Adamkus | George W. Bush | ||||
Valdas Adamkus | George W. Bush | |||||
Dalia Grybauskaitė | Barack Obama | |||||
Dalia Grybauskaitė | Barack Obama |