The Baltic Legations were the missions of the exiled Baltic diplomatic services from 1940 to 1991. After the Soviet

occupation of the Baltic states The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Naz ...

in 1940, the Baltic states instructed their diplomats to maintain their countries'

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

s in several Western capitals. Members of the Estonian diplomatic service, the Latvian diplomatic service and the Lithuanian diplomatic service continued to be recognised as the diplomatic representatives of the independent pre-

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 ...

states of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, whose annexation by the Soviet Union was not recognised by the United States, the United Kingdom, or France. The legations provided consular services to exiled citizens of the Baltic states from 1940 to 1991.

History

Between May and June 1940, the Baltic governments reached a secret decision that in the event of an emergency, the powers of government to appoint and recall diplomatic and consular representatives were assigned to the heads of the respective legations in the event that connection with the governments was lost. After the Soviet occupation in 1940, Soviet authorities attempted to have missions turned over and the diplomatic representatives return home. Draconian laws were promulgated in 1940 to induce compliance; the diplomats who refused to return were declared outlaws with the penalty of death by shooting within 24 hours of their capture. Mälksoo (2003), p. 142.

Legation property

All three legations maintained at least one diplomatic property in the United States until the end of the Cold War. Latvia and Lithuania maintained their original

s in Washington, D.C., while Estonia maintained a consulate in New York City. After World War II, the legation died out as a form of diplomatic representation, as countries upgraded them to embassies. However, the Baltic states did not control their own territory and could not receive a U.S. ambassador. By 1990, the three Baltic legations were the only remaining legations on the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic List. The Estonian legation in London was maintained until 1989, when financial pressure forced its sale. The Latvian and Lithuanian legations continued their work. The Baltic legations in Paris were transferred ''de facto'' to the Soviet Embassy. The Estonian legation was demolished in 1979, and the Latvian legation was recorded as a Soviet property in 1967. However, the Lithuanian legation remained registered to the prewar government of Lithuania, and the Soviet Embassy was unable to sell the building.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baltic Legations (1940-1991) Diplomatic services Occupation of the Baltic states Baltic diplomatic missions Former governments in exile