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U.S. and Estonian Staff of the U.S. Legation to Estonia, ca. 1936 (Eesti Filmiarhiiv)
HISTORY OF U.S. RELATIONS WITH ESTONIA
The United States has maintained continuous official diplomatic relations with the Republic of Estonia since July 28, 1922. Frederick W. B. Coleman of Minnesota was appointed to be the first U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Baltic States on September 20, 1922. He presented his credentials in Tallinn on November 20, 1922.
From 1919 to 1922, U.S. interests in the Republic of Estonia were represented by a U.S. Commissioner based in Riga (Latvia) and a U.S. Consul based in Tallinn. Estonian diplomats have been accredited to the U.S. Department of State since 1922 and Estonian consular representatives have operated in the United States continuously since 1920.
After the illegal occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union on June 17, 1940, U.S. Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles issued a statement on July 23, 1940 which established the U.S. Government's official policy of non-recognition. As a result, the United States never recognized the forcible incorporation of Estonia and the other Baltic republics of Latvia and Lithuania into the Soviet Union.
Following the restoration of Estonia's rightful independence on August 21, 1991, the United States announced its readiness to re-establish full relations with the Republic of Estonia on September 2, 1991. Robert C. Frasure of West Virginia presented his credentials to the Estonian Government as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim on October 2, 1991. He was appointed the first U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Estonia on March 23, 1992. He presented his credentials on April 9, 1992.
The United States Mission to Estonia resumed operations in the current U.S. Embassy chancery building located on Kentmanni Street on February 6, 1992 – in the very same building which housed the U.S. Legation to Estonia from April 1, 1930 until it was forced to close on September 5, 1940.
Additional information:
The U.S. Consulate in Reval, 1859-1870 (PDF - 368 kb)
The USS Elrod and the Proud Tradition of U.S. Navy Warship Visits to Tallinn (PDF - 384 kb)
U.S. Recognition Statement, 1922 (PDF - 182 kb)
U.S. Diplomatic Representatives to Estonia, 1919-1940 (PDF - 371 kb)
U.S. Citizens Who Received Estonian State Awards, 1920-1940 (PDF - 359 kb)
Locations and Functions of the U.S. Mission to Estonia, 1920-1940 (PDF - 316 kb)
U.S. Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles: U.S. Non-Recognition Policy Statement, 1940 (PDF - 203 kb)
Read Their Stories:
John Quincy Adams: A Future U.S. President Visits Reval (PDF - 393 kb)
Henry W. Antheil, Jr. (PDF - 325 kb)
Lt. Clifford A. Blanton: The Ultimate Sacrifice (PDF - 377 kb)
Charles E. Bohlen: Learning How to See Soviet Russia from Estonia (PDF - 352 kb)
The Carlsons: At Home in Estonia (PDF - 267 kb)
Walter M. Chandler: Building the Legal Case for Estonia's Independence (PDF - 358 kb)
Herbert S. Gott: Building Civil Society in Estonia, 1920-1932 (PDF - 318 kb)
Virginia Hall: Not Bad for a Girl from Baltimore (PDF - 398 kb)
Loy W. Henderson: How One American Earned Estonia's Cross of Liberty (PDF - 309 kb)
Herbert Hoover: Former U.S. President Comes to Tallinn (PDF - 409 kb)
John Patrick Hurley: The First U.S. Consul to the Republic of Estonia (PDF - 324 kb)
George F. Kennan: Learning How to See Soviet Russia from Estonia (PDF - 352 kb)
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: A Future U.S. President Visits Tallinn (PDF - 393 kb)
August A. Krantz: The Mysterious Captain Krantz (PDF - 373 kb)
Samuel Eliot Morison: A Historian Who Made History (PDF - 385 kb)
Edward Ryan: The Amazing Dr. Edward Ryan and the Work of the American Red Cross in Estonia (PDF - 481 kb)
Eugene Schuyler: The Last U.S. Consul in Reval (PDF - 359 kb)
John & Irena Wiley: Bearing Witness (PDF - 307 kb)
John & Irena Wiley: On Rediscovering Maria Laidoner's Secret (PDF - 312 kb)
Lt. George W. Winfield: The Ultimate Sacrifice (PDF - 377 kb)
USS Chattanooga: The First U.S. Navy Ship to Visit Estonia (PDF - 330 kb)
