Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Washington, D.C. (), is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

of the

Republic of Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is located at 2622 16th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the

Meridian Hill Meridian Hill is a small urban Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. Meridian Hill is often considered to be a part of the larger neighborhoods of 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 Mary Foote Henderson (July 21, 1842 – July 16, 1931) was an American author, real estate developer, and social activist from the U.S. state of New York who was known as "The Empress of Sixteenth Street". Henderson was a notable advocate of wom ...

. 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 Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Ameri ...

on May 19, 1979. At the time the building was occupied by the

Lithuanian diplomatic service The Diplomatic Service of the Republic of Lithuania () is the part of the governmental service tasked with enforcing the foreign policy set by the President of Lithuania, President, the Seimas, Parliament, and the Government of Lithuania, Governmen ...

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 Lithuanian Americans refer to American citizens and residents of Lithuanian descent or were born in Lithuania. New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the largest percentage of Lithuanian Americans (20.8%) in its population in the United States. ...

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 Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; November 3, 1926) is a Lithuanian politician, diplomat and civil engineer who served as the fifth and seventh president of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009. Adamku ...

, 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 The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and opened

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

s to establish independent diplomatic representation. At the time, the legation was the standard form of diplomatic mission, and only

Great Power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...

s 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. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

is the representative of the Lithuanian government for the

US government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

References

External links

Official website

wikimapia

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Lithuania–United States relations Adams Morgan

Meridian Hill {{WashingtonDC-struct-stub

Building

History

Ambassadors

See also

References

External links