Virtual exhibition “History of Lithuania‘s representation in Los Angeles”
The question of establishing an Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Lithuania in Los Angeles was first discussed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in the late summer of 1925. The idea of founding a consulate reemerged in the second half of the 1930s. Initially, there was an intention to establish a network of honorary consulates in the United States: in Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, California, St. Louis, and New Orleans. However, considering the country’s capabilities, in 1937, the plans were narrowed down to establishing honorary consulates only in Los Angeles and Boston. In evaluating candidates for the position of Honorary Consul of Lithuania in Los Angeles, Dr. Julius Jonas Bielskis was deemed the most suitable. He was appointed as consul in 1939.
During J. J. Bielskis’ tenure, four primary areas of activity can be distinguished in the operations of the Lithuanian Honorary Consulate in Los Angeles: cooperation with the local Consular Corps; maintaining relations with the city government of Los Angeles and other Californian cities; sustaining close ties with the Lithuanian community in Los Angeles; and organizing official events during national holidays.
In the post-war years, following the forcible incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union, a new, significant, and challenging area of work emerged – the need to raise the issue of the restoration of Lithuania’s independence and statehood at all levels of the U.S. government and to coordinate the efforts of Lithuanian-American organizations in this regard. J. J. Bielskis aimed to inform the diaspora as widely as possible about the situation in the occupied homeland, the progress of Lithuania’s liberation efforts in the West, the activities of the Honorary Consulate, and to maintain close relations with local authorities.
Following the death of J. J. Bielskis, the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service (LDS) became concerned with ensuring the continuity of the Honorary Consulate General’s operations in Los Angeles. Local Lithuanians proposed several candidates, and the LDS leadership selected Vytautas Čekanauskas.
Under V. Čekanauskas’s tenure, the main areas of activity of the Lithuanian Honorary Consulate General in Los Angeles remained the same: cooperation with the Consular Corps and maintaining relations with both local authorities and the diaspora. He maintained especially close ties with the honorary consuls of Estonia and Latvia. In 1986, V. Čekanauskas was elected Second Vice-Dean of the Consular Corps.
After Lithuania regained independence, the LDS, which had been operating abroad, began integrating into the structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. V. Čekanauskas was officially appointed as Lithuania’s representative in Los Angeles on November 10, 1992, retaining his existing title. At that time, the activities of the Honorary Consulate General in Los Angeles underwent significant changes. Lithuanians and diaspora representatives arriving in Los Angeles required consular and various other services. Moreover, the nature of relations with local authorities and the role of the Lithuanian Honorary Consul General within the Consular Corps also evolved (in 1998–1999, V. Čekanauskas again served as Second Vice-Dean). The consulate also expanded into new areas of activity, particularly in promoting economic and cultural relations, as well as tourism. A considerable amount of work was also involved in preparing visits by Lithuania’s top officials to Los Angeles. In May 1991, Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, visited the city. In 1993, President Algirdas Brazauskas visited. In 2000, President Valdas Adamkus followed suit.
The Honorary Consul General of Lithuania, Vytautas Čekanauskas, passed away after a long illness during the night of December 1, 2009 (officially – November 30), at the age of 80. His work was successfully continued by his daughter, Daiva Čekanauskaitė-Navarrette, who was accredited as the Honorary Consul of Lithuania in Los Angeles by the U.S. Department of State on August 9, 2010.
This virtual exhibition presents documents revealing the history of the Lithuanian Consulate in Los Angeles, from the initial discussions of its establishment nearly a century ago to the beginning of the 21st century. The exhibition consists of five parts – the first three commemorate the history of J. J. Bielskis' tenure in Los Angeles, and the remaining two – that of Vytautas Čekanauskas. The exhibition showcases various diplomatic appointments, correspondence concerning consular activities with the LDS, diaspora organizations, and local institutions, as well as photographs from events and meetings attended by the consuls. A significant addition to the exhibition came in August 2024, with the arrival of diplomatic documents from Los Angeles, accumulated by the aforementioned consuls. The Lithuanian Consulate’s archive was preserved and donated to the Lithuanian Central State Archives by the daughters of the former Honorary Consul General of Lithuania in Los Angeles – Daiva Čekanauskaitė-Navarrette, Rita Žukienė, and Vida Bruožienė.
We invite you to explore the exhibition.