Changing of the Guard: Lithuania's New Ambassadors to the United Nations

February 15, 2017: Julius Pranevičius, then Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in New York, with Andrew Kapochunas and his wife, Aileen Bassis, at the opening of Andrew's exhibition: "300+ Years of Lithuania on Maps, 1552-1862," at the Lithuanian Consulate in New York.

On April 10, 2026, Julius Pranevičius became Lithuania's new Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the United Nations in New York City, replacing Rytis Paulauskas, who became the Republic of Lithuania's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the UN Office at Geneva, Switzerland.

Left photo: April 20, 2026: Rytis Paulauskas presenting his credentials to Director-General of the UN office in Geneva Tatiana Valovaya. Right photo: June 5, 2025: Rytis Paulauskas, Andrew Kapochunas and his wife, Aileen Bassis, at Arader Gallery, New York, at Andrew's presentation "The Golden Age of Dutch Cartography: the Dutch-Lithuanian Connection," hosted by Ambassador Paulauskas.

Ambassador Pranevičius, a graduate of Vilnius University, is a former Vice-Minister at Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Ambassador at the Embassy of Lithuania in India, former Consulate General in NY, and former Diplomat at Užsienio reikalų ministerija.

Prior to Ambassador Paulauskas' appointment to Geneva, he had been serving, since 2021, as Lithuania's Ambassador to the UN in New York. He previously served as Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva and in Vienna. Ambassador Paulauskas holds a Master’s degree in Arts from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, and a Master of Laws from Vilnius University Law School.

Congratulations to both newly-appointed Ambassadors! Sveikiname abu naujai paskirtus ambasadorius!