| Ambassador of the United States to Latvia | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the United States Department of State | |
| Nominator | The President of the United States |
| Appointer | The President with Senate advice and consent |
| Inaugural holder | Frederick W.B. Coleman as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary |
| Formation | September 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.
The U.S. Embassy in Latvia is located in Riga.
Ambassadors
|
U.S. diplomatic terms |
|---|
|
Career FSO After 1915, The United States Department of State began classifying ambassadors as career Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) for those who have served in the Foreign Service for a specified amount of time. Political appointee A person who is not a career foreign service officer, but is appointed by the president (often as a reward to political friends). Appointed The date that the ambassador took the oath of office; also known as "commissioning". It follows confirmation of a presidential appointment by the Senate, or a Congressional recess appointment by the president. In the case of a recess appointment, the ambassador requires subsequent confirmation by the Senate to remain in office. Presented credentials The date that the ambassador presented his letter of credence to the head of state or appropriate authority of the receiving nation. At this time the ambassador officially becomes the representative of his country. This would normally occur a short time after the ambassador's arrival on station. The host nation may reject the ambassador by not receiving the ambassador's letter, but this occurs only rarely. Terminated mission Usually the date that the ambassador left the country. In some cases a letter of recall is presented, ending the ambassador's commission, either as a means of diplomatic protest or because the diplomat is being reassigned elsewhere and replaced by another envoy. Chargé d'affaires The person in charge of the business of the embassy when there is no ambassador commissioned to the host country. Ad interim Latin phrase meaning "for the time being", "in the meantime". |
| Name | Title | Appointed | Presented credentials | Terminated mission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick W. B. Coleman[1] – Political appointee | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | September 20, 1922 | November 13, 1922 | October 20, 1931 | |
| Robert Peet Skinner[1][2] – Career FSO | September 23, 1931 | January 28, 1932 | April 29, 1933 | ||
| John Van Antwerp MacMurray[1][3] – Career FSO | August 28, 1933 | December 13, 1933 | February 12, 1936 | ||
| Arthur Bliss Lane[1] – Career FSO | January 24, 1936 | July 2, 1936 | September 16, 1937 | ||
| John C. Wiley[4][5] – Career FSO | July 18, 1938 | October 6, 1938 | June 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 FSO | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | March 23, 1992 | April 10, 1992 | July 14, 1995 | |
| Larry C. Napper – Career FSO | June 27, 1995 | August 1, 1995 | October 1, 1998 | ||
| James Howard Holmes – Career FSO | August 4, 1998 | August 27, 1998 | September 15, 2001 | ||
| Brian E. Carlson – Career FSO | November 5, 2001 | December 4, 2001 | December 6, 2004 | ||
| Catherine Todd Bailey – Political appointee | November 29, 2004[8] | February 4, 2005 | February 4, 2008 | ||
| Charles W. Larson, Jr. – Political appointee | January 7, 2008 | February 12, 2008 | January 20, 2009[9] | ||
| Judith G. Garber – Career FSO | August 14, 2009 | August 25, 2009 | July 9, 2012 | ||
| Mark Pekala – Career FSO | July 10, 2012 | September 4, 2012 | August 7, 2014 | ||
| Nancy Pettit – Career FSO | July 29, 2015 | September 8, 2015 | July 14, 2019 | ||
| John Carwile – Career FSO | September 30, 2019 | November 5, 2019 | January 27, 2023[10] | ||
| Christopher T. Robinson - Career FSO | December 13, 2022 | February 21, 2023 | Incumbent | ||
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 The ambassador was simultaneously accredited to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, while resident in Riga, Latvia.
- ↑ Skinner was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1931.
- ↑ MacMurray was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 15, 1934.
- ↑ The ambassador was simultaneously accredited to Estonia and Latvia, while resident in Riga.
- ↑ Wiley was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 20, 1939.
- ↑ "U.S. Diplomatic Representatives to Estonia, 1919-1940" (PDF). U.S. Embassy in Estonia.
- ↑ "History of the U.S. and Estonia". U.S. Embassy in Estonia. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
- ↑ An earlier nomination of September 8, 2004 was not acted upon by the Senate.
- ↑ "Charles W. Larson Jr. - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
- ↑ "U.S. Ambassador Carwile bids a fond farewell to Latvia".
See also
References
External links
- United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Latvia
- United States Department of State: Latvia
- United States Embassy in Riga
| |||||||
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.