# Embassy of Lithuania, Washington, D.C.

Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Washington, D.C. (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos ambasada Vašingtone), 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 Meridian Hill 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, Kazys Bizauskas, the envoy of the Republic of Lithuania to the United States, purchased a building with a substantial plot of land on 16th Street for 90,000 dollars. In the 1950s, the southern wing of the building was demolished, and the narrow northern wing of the villa is still occupied by the Lithuanian Embassy today. 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. Between 2004 and 2007, the building was extended by a new western wing in the courtyard, and a capsule containing a letter from the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, to future generations was embedded in the wall. The Embassy's renovation was designed by New York architect Saulius Gečas.

## History

After World War I, Lithuania regained independence 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 occupied and 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 occupied 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 ambassador of Lithuania in Washington, D.C. is the representative of the Lithuanian government for the US government.
| Diplomatic agrément | Diplomatic accreditation | Ambassador | Observations | President of Lithuania | President of the United States | Term end |
| October 11, 1922 | | | Legation opened. | Aleksandras Stulginskis | Warren G. Harding | |
| October 11, 1922 | | Voldemaras Vytautas Čarneckis [lt] | Chargé d'affaires | Aleksandras Stulginskis | Warren G. Harding | |
| December 11, 1923 | | Kazys Bizauskas | Chargé d'affaires | Aleksandras Stulginskis | Calvin Coolidge | |
| August 6, 1924 | | Kazys Bizauskas | | Aleksandras Stulginskis | Calvin Coolidge | |
| November 2, 1928 | | Bronius Kazys Balutis | | Antanas Smetona | Calvin Coolidge | |
| August 21, 1935 | | Povilas Žadeikis | | Antanas Smetona | Franklin D. Roosevelt | |
| May 11, 1957 | | Juozas Kajeckas [lt] | Chargé d'affaires | – | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
| January 1, 1977 | | Stasys Antanas Bačkis | Chargé d'affaires | – | Jimmy Carter | |
| November 15, 1987 | | Stasys Lozoraitis Jr. | Chargé d'affaires | – | Ronald Reagan | |
| September 2, 1991 | | | President Bush announced that the US was prepared to immediately establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Lithuania | Vytautas Landsbergis | George H. W. Bush | |
| November 5, 1991 | | | Dept informed that the Government of Lithuania wished to raise Legation to Embassy Dept agreed Nov 19 | Vytautas Landsbergis | George H. W. Bush | |
| December 20, 1991 | March 11, 1992 | Stasys Lozoraitis Jr. | | Vytautas Landsbergis | George H. W. Bush | |
| November 24, 1993 | December 9, 1993 | Alfonsas Eidintas | | Algirdas Brazauskas | Bill Clinton | |
| September 30, 1997 | November 12, 1997 | Stasys Sakalauskas | | Algirdas Brazauskas | Bill Clinton | |
| March 7, 2001 | March 13, 2001 | Vygaudas Ušackas | | Valdas Adamkus | George W. Bush | |
| February 26, 2007 | February 27, 2007 | Audrius Brūzga [lt] | | Valdas Adamkus | George W. Bush | |
| August 5, 2010 | August 10, 2010 | Žygimantas Pavilionis | | Dalia Grybauskaitė | Barack Obama | |
| August 6, 2015 | September 17, 2015 | Rolandas Kriščiūnas [lt] | | Dalia Grybauskaitė | Barack Obama | July 22, 2019 |
| April 21, 2021 | May 18, 2021 | Audra Plepytė | | Gitanas Nausėda | Joe Biden | |