:''See

Stasys Lozoraitis Jr. Stasys Lozoraitis Jr. (August 2, 1924 – June 13, 1994) was a Lithuanian diplomat and politician who served as the Head of the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service from 1987 to 1991, Chief Diplomat to the United States 1991 to 1993 and Ambassador to Ita ...

for an article about a son of Stasys Lozoraitis.'' Stasys Lozoraitis ( – 24 December 1983) was a prominent

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 ...

n diplomat and politician who served as the Foreign Minister of Lithuania from 1934 until 1938. After Lithuania lost its independence in June 1940, Lozoraitis headed 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 ...

from 1940 to his death in 1983. Most western countries did not recognize the Soviet occupation and continued to recognize legations and envoys of independent Lithuania thus maintaining the legal continuity of Lithuania. Lozoraitis was a son of Motiejus Lozoraitis, a lawyer, activist of the

Lithuanian National Revival The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism (), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century, when a major part of Lithuanian-inhabited areas belonged to the Russian ...

, and contributor to ''

Varpas ''Varpas'' (literally: ''The Bell'') was a monthly Lithuanian-language newspaper published during the Lithuanian press ban from January 1889 to December 1905. Because its publication was illegal in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, it w ...

''. In 1923 he was assigned to the Lithuanian legation in Berlin. While in Germany, Lozoraitis studied international law at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. In 1929, he was transferred to Rome, where he became ''

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

'' in 1931. In 1932, he returned to Lithuania and worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, becoming the Minister in June 1934. He worked to establish the

Baltic Entente The Baltic Entente was based on Treaty of Good-Understanding and Co-operation signed between Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia on 12 September 1934 in Geneva. The main objective of the agreement was joint action in foreign policy. It also included co ...

and to normalize relations with Poland, with which there were no diplomatic relations since

Żeligowski's Mutiny Żeligowski's Mutiny (, also , ) was a Polish false flag operation led by General Lucjan Żeligowski in October 1920, which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Central Lithuania. Józef Piłsudski, the Chief of State of Poland, surreptit ...

in 1920. Lozoraitis resigned after Poland presented an ultimatum in 1938 to resume diplomatic relations. In February 1939, Lozoraitis was appointed as

minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to Italy. After the Lithuania was occupied by 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 ...

in June 1940, Lozoraitis became the leader of all Lithuanian diplomatic service that remained abroad. As the highest ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' official of independent Lithuania, he represented Lithuania, advocated for non-recognition of the Soviet occupation, and popularized the Lithuanian cause. Lozoraitis continued to live in Rome and head the diplomatic service until his death on December 24, 1983. Upon his death, he was succeeded by Stasys Bačkis.

References

External links

*
Collection of documents related to Lozoraitis' diplomatic service
1898 births 1983 deaths Lithuanian diplomats Ministers of foreign affairs of Lithuania World War II political leaders Baltic diplomatic missions Burials at Petrašiūnai Cemetery {{Lithuania-politician-stub