The Latvian diplomatic service in exile () was the only governmental body of the

Republic of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

which continued its activities during the Nazi and Soviet occupation of Latvia during 1940–1991. Latvian diplomats who were stationed in embassies and consulates at the moment of the occupation in 1940, refused to recognize the occupation and return to Soviet Latvia. They continued to formally represent the interests of Latvia in countries that did not recognize the Soviet annexation. After the restoration of Latvian independence in 1991, the diplomats started reporting to the restored Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Background

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

was occupied on June 17, 1940, by

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

troops and officially annexed to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

on August 5, 1940 in the form of the

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation and annexation of Latvia began between J ...

. One month before the occupation, on 17 May 1940 the Cabinet of Ministers granted extraordinary powers to Kārlis Zariņš, Latvia’s Ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Zariņš was authorised to defend Latvia’s interests, supervise the work of Latvia’s representations abroad and handle their finances and property. This created a legal basis for the functioning of the diplomatic service in the absence of a legal government in Latvia."ON GUARD FOR LATVIA'S STATEHOOD" Latvia's Foreign Service Staff in Exile During the Years of Occupation June 17, 1941 - August 21, 1991
- Official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia The United States never recognized the forcible and illegal annexation of the

Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

in conformity with the principles of the

Stimson Doctrine The Stimson Doctrine is the policy of nonrecognition of states created as a result of a war of aggression. The policy was implemented by the United States government, enunciated in a note of January 7, 1932, to the Empire of Japan and the Republ ...

(US Under Secretary of State

Sumner Welles Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892September 24, 1961) was an American government official and diplomat. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State from 1936 to 1943, dur ...

’s Declaration of July 23, 1940), and more than 50 countries followed this position. The work of the diplomatic service was financed from Latvian gold reserves in foreign banks.

Activity

During the occupation, Latvian diplomatic missions continued their work in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, the

and 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 ...

. The Latvian diplomatic service regularly issued official statements regarding the illegality of the Soviet occupation and annexation of Latvia as well as regarding Latvia’s right to restore its national independence. It was also protecting the interests of Latvian citizens abroad and the Latvian property abroad. In 1947 a joint communication on the occupation of Baltic states to the UN was sent by the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian diplomats abroad. The

Baltic Appeal to the United Nations The Baltic Appeal (, or ''Baltiešu memorands'', ) was a public letter to the secretary-general of the United Nations, Soviet Union, East and West Germany, and signatories of the Atlantic Charter by 45 Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian citizens. S ...

(now "Baltic Association to the United Nations") was formed in 1966. On March 26, 1949, the US State Department issued a circular stating that the Baltic states were still independent nations with their own diplomatic representatives. In 1969, the Latvian Counselor to the US Anatols Dinbergs, among leaders of 73 countries around the world, signed the

Apollo 11 Goodwill Messages The Apollo 11 goodwill messages are statements from leaders of 73 countries around the world on a disc about the size of a 50-cent piece made of silicon that was left on the Moon in 1969 by the Apollo 11 astronauts. The disc also carried names ...

on behalf of the Latvian nation. Nevertheless, Latvia was not allowed to establish a

government-in-exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

in any Western country or sign the Declaration of the United Nations (1942), as Latvian diplomats wished. The Soviet Foreign Ministry issued formal protests against the Baltic diplomatic missions remaining open in Washington DC and elsewhere.Hiden, pp. 63–64
/ref> In Canada the official list of diplomats included the offices of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In the early 1960s that caused the Soviet Embassy in Canada to refuse to receive the lists distributed by the Canadian Department of External Affairs. Eventually, the UK excluded the Baltic diplomats from the Diplomatic List, but as a compromise Baltic diplomats continued to be accepted as possessing a diplomatic character by His/Her Majesty's Governments.James T. McHugh, James S. Pacy, p.101
/ref> The Latvian diplomatic service in exile actively co-operated with organizations of the

Latvian diaspora The Latvian diaspora refers to Latvians and people of Latvian descent residing outside Latvia. According to estimates by the Latvian Foreign Ministry, as at 2012, about 370,000 Latvian citizens permanently resided outside of Latvia, most of ...

in joint efforts to keep Western countries from formally recognizing Latvia’s annexation by the USSR. The existence of the exiled diplomatic service was another demonstration of the illegality of the annexation.

Transition of mandate after restoration of independence

The exiled diplomatic service of Latvia played an important role during the restoration of independence of Latvia in 1988 - 1990 and in ensuring the legal continuity between the newly independent Latvian state and the interwar Latvian Republic. Latvia's parliament officially restored the country’s full independence on the 21 August 1991 in the aftermath of the failed Soviet coup attempt. Wide international recognition of restored independence started after that, and the legations and consulates of the exiled diplomatic service were transferred to the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Anatols Dinbergs, the last head of the diplomatic service in exile, was promoted to the rank of

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(September - December 1991) as well as Ambassador to the United States (1991–1992).

Heads of the Latvian diplomatic service in exile

* Kārlis Zariņš (Charles Zarine) (1940–1963) * Arnolds Spekke (1963–1970) * Anatols Dinbergs (1971–1991)

References

{{Latvia topics Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Baltic diplomatic missions Diplomatic services Former governments in exile Government of Latvia Occupation of the Baltic states Anti-communist organisations in Latvia

Background

Activity

Transition of mandate after restoration of independence

Heads of the Latvian diplomatic service in exile

See also

References