- U.S.- Estonia Relations
- History of the U.S. and 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.
The Embassy of the United States of America began official operations on Wednesday, October 2, 1991, at twelve o’clock, in temporary chancery offices located at the Palace Hotel.
Robert C. Frasure of West Virginia 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 368K)
- The USS Elrod and the Proud Tradition of U.S. Navy Warship Visits to Tallinn (PDF 384K)
- U.S. Recognition Statement, 1922 (PDF 182K)
- U.S. Diplomatic Representatives to Estonia, 1919-1940 (PDF 371K)
- U.S. Citizens Who Received Estonian State Awards, 1920-1940 (PDF 359K)
- U.S. Citizens Who Received Estonian State Decorations, 1995 – 2019 (PDF 562 KB)
- Locations and Functions of the U.S. Mission to Estonia, 1920-1940 (PDF 316K)
- U.S. Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles: U.S. Non-Recognition Policy Statement, 1940 (PDF 203K)
Read Their Stories
- John Quincy Adams: A Future U.S. President Visits Reval (PDF 393K)
- Henry W. Antheil, Jr. (PDF 325K)
- Lt. Clifford A. Blanton: The Ultimate Sacrifice (PDF 377K)
- Charles E. Bohlen: Learning How to See Soviet Russia from Estonia (PDF 352K)
- The Carlsons: At Home in Estonia (PDF 267K)
- Walter M. Chandler: Building the Legal Case for Estonia’s Independence (PDF 358K)
- Herbert S. Gott: Building Civil Society in Estonia, 1920-1932 (PDF 318K)
- Virginia Hall: Not Bad for a Girl from Baltimore (PDF 398K)
- Loy W. Henderson: How One American Earned Estonia’s Cross of Liberty (PDF 309K)
- Herbert Hoover: Former U.S. President Comes to Tallinn (PDF 409K)
- John Patrick Hurley: The First U.S. Consul to the Republic of Estonia (PDF 324K)
- George F. Kennan: Learning How to See Soviet Russia from Estonia (PDF 352K)
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy: A Future U.S. President Visits Tallinn (PDF 393K)
- August A. Krantz: The Mysterious Captain Krantz (PDF 373K)
- Samuel Eliot Morison: A Historian Who Made History (PDF 385K)
- Edward Ryan: The Amazing Dr. Edward Ryan and the Work of the American Red Cross in Estonia (PDF 481K)
- Eugene Schuyler: The Last U.S. Consul in Reval (PDF 359K)
- John & Irena Wiley: Bearing Witness (PDF 307K)
- John & Irena Wiley: On Rediscovering Maria Laidoner’s Secret (PDF 312K)
- Lt. George W. Winfield: The Ultimate Sacrifice (PDF 377K)
- USS Chattanooga: The First U.S. Navy Ship to Visit Estonia (PDF 330K)