List of ambassadors of the United States to Latvia

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.

Ambassador of the United States to Latvia
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
John Carwile
since November 5, 2019
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holderFrederick W.B. Coleman
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
FormationSeptember 20, 1922
WebsiteU.S. Embassy - Riga

The U.S. Embassy in Latvia is located in Riga.

On Thursday, February 5, 2015, President Barack Obama nominated Nancy Bikoff Pettit, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to the U.S. Senate for confirmation to serve as Ambassador to Latvia.[1]

Ambassadors
  • Name: Frederick W. B. Coleman[2] – Political appointee
    • Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: September 20, 1922
    • Presented credentials: November 13, 1922
    • Terminated mission: Left post October 20, 1931
  • Name: Robert Peet Skinner[2][3] – Career FSO
    • Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: September 23, 1931
    • Presented credentials: January 28, 1932
    • Terminated mission: Left post April 29, 1933
  • Name: John Van Antwerp MacMurray[2][4] – Career FSO
    • Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: August 28, 1933
    • Presented credentials: December 13, 1933
    • Terminated mission: Left post February 12, 1936
  • Name: Arthur Bliss Lane[2] – Career FSO
    • Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: January 24, 1936
    • Presented credentials: July 2, 1936
    • Terminated mission: Left post September 16, 1937
  • Name: Frederick A. Sterling[5][6] – Career FSO
    • Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: August 9, 1937
    • Presented credentials: —
    • Terminated mission: —
  • Name: John C. Wiley[5][7] – Career FSO
    • Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: July 18, 1938
    • Presented credentials: October 6, 1938
    • Terminated mission: June 17, 1940

Note: 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.

Note: 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.

Note: The United States announced its readiness to reestablish full relations with Latvia on September 2, 1991. Embassy Riga was reestablished October 2, 1991 with Ints M. Siliņš as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim pending his appointment as ambassador.

  • Name: Ints Siliņš – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: March 23, 1992
    • Presented credentials: April 10, 1992
    • Terminated mission: Left post July 14, 1995
  • Name: Larry C. Napper – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: June 27, 1995
    • Presented credentials: August 1, 1995
    • Terminated mission: Left post October 1, 1998
  • Name: James Howard Holmes – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: August 4, 1998
    • Presented credentials: August 27, 1998
    • Terminated mission: Left post September 15, 2001
  • Name: Brian E. Carlson – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: November 5, 2001
    • Presented credentials: December 4, 2001
    • Terminated mission: Left post December 6, 2004
  • Name: Catherine Todd Bailey – Political appointee
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: November 29, 2004[8]
    • Presented credentials: February 4, 2005
    • Terminated mission: c. December 2007
  • Name: Charles W. Larson, Jr. – Political appointee
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: January 7, 2008
    • Presented credentials: February 12, 2008
    • Terminated mission: June 2009
  • Name: Judith G. Garber – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: August 14, 2009
    • Presented credentials: August 25, 2009
    • Terminated mission: July 9, 2012
  • Name: Mark Pekala – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: July 10, 2012
    • Presented credentials: September 4, 2012
    • Terminated mission: Left post August 7, 2014
  • Name: Nancy Pettit – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: July 29, 2015
    • Presented credentials: September 8, 2015
    • Terminated mission: July 14, 2019
  • Name: John Carwile – Career FSO
    • Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
    • Appointed: September 30, 2019
    • Presented credentials: November 5, 2019
    • Terminated mission: Incumbent

Notes
  1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/05/presidential-nominations-sent-senate
  2. The ambassador was simultaneously accredited to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, while resident in Riga, Latvia.
  3. Skinner was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on December 17, 1931.
  4. MacMurray was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on January 15, 1934.
  5. The ambassador was simultaneously accredited to Estonia and Latvia, while resident in Riga.
  6. Sterling took the oath of office but did not proceed to post.
  7. Wiley was commissioned during a recess of the Senate and recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 20, 1939.
  8. An earlier nomination of September 8, 2004 was not acted upon by the Senate.

See also

References
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.