Lithuanian Ambassador Varvuolis Reflects on First Year in Washington |
Earlier this week, I traveled to D.C. to interview one of Washington’s newest ambassadors: Lithuanian Ambassador to the U.S., Gediminas Varvuolis.
Before the U.S., the seasoned diplomat has been posted all over the world on behalf of the tiny Baltic nation. He recently served the Three Seas Initiative that encompasses 13 countries spanning the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Seas. Before that, he was Lithuania’s Ambassador to Japan.
Varvuolis’ current post in Washington, however, is proving to be his busiest and most consequential one yet. Appointed in July 2025, Amb. Varvuolis landed in Washington last August. Since his arrival, he’s been engaged with the State Department, Congress, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and the Lithuanian diaspora.
“In terms of our bilateral relations, we had, I think, quite successful high-level bilateral interactions since I came here,” the ambassador said to Townhall.com. “We'll continue to have more bilateral interaction, because the United States is our key strategic ally, and we want it to remain like this…And for that, we need to work hard to make sure that our leaders stay aligned and talk to each other.”
In his travels across the U.S. thus far, Ambassador Varvuolis frequently meets Americans with full or partial Lithuanian ancestry. Today, about 700,000 Americans can trace their roots back to Lithuania.
“Nowhere else in my previous postings I had this feeling that somehow Lithuania is all over the United States,” he added. “We are part of the society, and we are part of this American fabric. This makes me proud, basically, about our........