The relations between

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 ...

and 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 ...

have been constant and strong since Estonia regained its independence in 1991. The United States and Estonia are allies and partners. Both nations are members of the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

History

Ivanka Trump meets with Kersti Kaljulaid

The United States recognized the

Republic 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 ...

''de jure'' on July 28, 1922. The first Estonian diplomatic mission in the United States was opened in the same year when the U.S. Commissioner at

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Evan Young, was declared the American representative to the three Baltic States, at the rank of Minister. An embassy in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

was opened on June 30, 1930, with Harry E. Carlson as

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 ...

. Following the Soviet occupation in August 1940 the American Embassy was closed in September 1940. However, the US government never recognized the legitimacy of the Soviet Rule in Estonia (1940 to 1991), and continued recognizing Estonia's diplomatic mission in the US as the legal representative of the Republic of Estonia. The recognition of the legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia has been the cornerstone of Estonian-U.S. relations. On September 2, 1991, US President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

recognized the restoration of Estonia's independence. The U.S. reopened its embassy in Tallinn on September 4, 1991. Relations between the two countries have since developed rapidly. In November 2006, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Estonia. During the visit, he announced the administration's intention to work with the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

to make changes to the U.S.

Visa Waiver Program The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the Federal government of the United States, United States government that allows nationals of specific countries to travel to the United States for tourism, business, or while in transit for up t ...

, increasing security while facilitating entry for legitimate visitors and businesspeople from countries like Estonia. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

nominated Jeffrey D. Levine as

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to Estonia, and he was confirmed by the Senate on March 29, 2012. Ambassador Levine presented his credentials to Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves on September 17, 2012. Mrs. Marina Kaljurand, in September 2011 replaced Mr. Väino Reinart who had been serving as Estonia's ambassador to the United States since September 2007. Estonia also is represented in the United States by a

consulate general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

in New York, Sten Schwede; and 10 honorary consuls: Jaak Treiman in Los Angeles, Eric Harkna and Siim Soot in Chicago, Paul Aarne Raidna in Seattle, Larry Ruth in Lincoln, Harry Huge in Charleston, Michael Corey Chan in San Diego, Aadu Allpere in Atlanta, and Steve Chucri in Phoenix.

Principal U.S. officials in Estonia

* Ambassador – George P. Kent * Deputy Chief of Middion – Gabrielle Cowan

Principal Estonian officials in US – embassy

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

– H.E. Mr. Jonatan Vseviov * Deputy Chief of Mission – Sven Jurgenson * Consul General – Mrs. Kairi Kunka

Resident diplomatic missions

* Estonia has an embassy in Washington, D.C. * United States has an embassy in Tallinn.

References

External links

History of Estonia - U.S. relations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estonia-United States relations Bilateral relations of the United States