The Embassy of the United States in Helsinki (Finnish: ''Yhdysvaltain suurlähetystö Helsingissä'') 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

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 ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, located at the

Kaivopuisto Kaivopuisto (), nicknamed ''Kaivari'' in Finnish or ''Brunsan'' in Swedish, is one of the oldest and best known parks in central Helsinki, Finland, and also a neighbourhood of about 500 inhabitants where the park is located. Geography To the sou ...

area in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki () is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipality, with million in the capital region and ...

History

Diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

between the United States and Finland were established shortly after Finland declared its 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 ...

on December 6, 1917. The United States officially recognized Finland on May 7, 1919, as communicated in a letter from Secretary of State Robert Lansing to Finnish Foreign Minister Rudolf Holsti, and diplomatic relations were established on May 27, 1919. The first U.S. Legation in Helsinki was established on March 19, 1920, when Chargé d'Affaires pro tem Alexander R. Magruder presented his credentials. Relations were disrupted during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

following Finland's alliance with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

against 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 ...

, which led to the closing of the U.S. Legation in Helsinki on June 30, 1944. Informal relations were resumed later in the year after Finland signed an armistice with the Allies and expelled German nationals from its territory. Formal diplomatic relations were reinstated on September 1, 1945, and the American Legation in Helsinki was reestablished, with Benjamin M. Hulley serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. The legation was later elevated to embassy status with Jack K. McFall assuming the role of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on November 15, 1952. The embassy has been on the same site in the Kaivopuisto District since the 1930s, but was renovated and extended in the 2010s. An Innovation Centre was completed in 2013 and a new Chancery, in white brick, was built. In 2018

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...

revealed the embassy were using a large warehouse near

Helsinki Airport Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (, ) , or simply Helsinki Airport, is the main international airport serving Helsinki, the capital of Finland, as well as its surrounding Helsinki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the Uusimaa region in Finland. ...

to receive large amounts of goods flown in from

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

References

{{Diplomatic missions in Finland

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland–United States relations

History

See also

References