Europe and the Soviet Union
Ints M. Siliņš: From Latvia to American Diplomacy
Escaped Soviet-occupied Latvia as a toddler, grew up a displaced person, and became the first U.S. ambassador to free Latvia.
- Fled
- Latvia
- Status
- Displaced person
- Arrived in the U.S.
- 1949
- Service
- First U.S. Ambassador to Latvia (1992 to 1995); Consul General in Strasbourg
- Region
- Europe and the Soviet Union
Ints Siliņš was born in Riga in 1942. In 1944, as the Soviet army returned to Latvia, his mother escaped with him to Germany, where they lived in a displaced persons camp in the American zone. They reached the United States in July 1949 and settled in Maryland.
He joined the Foreign Service in 1970 and served in South Vietnam, Romania, Haiti, and Sweden, in the Office of Soviet Affairs, and as Consul General in Strasbourg. When Latvia regained its independence, he became the first U.S. Ambassador to Latvia.
Read the history behind this story on the Latvia and the Baltics page, or browse all the diplomats.