Embassy of Lithuania, Washington, D.C.


The Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Washington, D.C., 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.
WWW usa.mfa.lt𝕏 LTembassyUS

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 agrémentDiplomatic accreditationAmbassadorObservationsPresident of LithuaniaPresident of the United StatesTerm end
Legation opened.Aleksandras StulginskisWarren G. Harding
Chargé d'affairesAleksandras StulginskisWarren G. Harding
Kazys BizauskasChargé d'affairesAleksandras StulginskisCalvin Coolidge
Kazys BizauskasAleksandras StulginskisCalvin Coolidge
Bronius Kazys BalutisAntanas SmetonaCalvin Coolidge
Povilas ŽadeikisAntanas SmetonaFranklin D. Roosevelt
Chargé d'affaires–Dwight D. Eisenhower
Stasys Antanas BačkisChargé d'affaires–Jimmy Carter
Stasys Lozoraitis Jr.Chargé d'affaires–Ronald Reagan
President Bush announced that the US was prepared to immediately establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of LithuaniaVytautas LandsbergisGeorge H. W. Bush
Dept informed that the Government of Lithuania wished to raise Legation to Embassy Dept agreed Nov 19Vytautas LandsbergisGeorge H. W. Bush
Stasys Lozoraitis Jr.Vytautas LandsbergisGeorge H. W. Bush
Alfonsas EidintasAlgirdas BrazauskasBill Clinton
Stasys SakalauskasAlgirdas BrazauskasBill Clinton
Vygaudas UšackasValdas AdamkusGeorge W. Bush
Valdas AdamkusGeorge W. Bush
Žygimantas PavilionisDalia GrybauskaitėBarack Obama
Dalia GrybauskaitėBarack Obama
Audra PlepytėGitanas NausėdaJoe Biden
July 24, 2025September 5, 2025Gediminas VarvuolisGitanas NausėdaDonald Trump