Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)
The Kingdom of Lithuania was a short-lived constitutional monarchy created towards the end of World War I when Lithuania was under occupation by the German Empire. The Council of Lithuania declared Lithuania's independence on February 16, 1918, but the Council was unable to form a government, police, or other state institutions due to the continued presence of German troops. The Germans presented various proposals to incorporate Lithuania into the German Empire, particularly Prussia. The Lithuanians resisted this idea and hoped to preserve their independence by creating a separate constitutional monarchy. On June 4, 1918, they voted to offer the Lithuanian throne to the German noble Wilhelm, 2nd Duke of Urach. Duke Wilhelm accepted the offer in July 1918 and took the name Mindaugas II. However, he never visited Lithuania. His election stirred up controversy, divided the Council, and did not achieve the desired results. As Germany was losing the war and was engulfed in the German Revolution, Lithuania suspended its decision to invite Duke William on November 2, 1918, thereby ending his short reign.
Lithuanian Diplomatic Service
Lithuania's diplomacy has long roots going all the way back to the era of King Mindaugas, yet modern-day diplomacy of the Republic of Lithuania is believed to have been born on 7 November 1918, with Augustinas Voldemaras, then prime minister of Lithuania, assuming the office of the foreign minister, thus heralding the formation of the country's Foreign Ministry Today, 7 November is celebrated as the Day of the Diplomat. Back in 1918, Lithuanian diplomacy's goal number one was to achieve "de jure" recognition of the restored state of Lithuania, and to demarcate its borders. On 23 November 1918, Jurgis Šaulys was appointed Lithuania's first minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary in Germany. On 11 January 1919, the first international agreement on communication by post was signed with Germany. The second agreement was made with Latvia, granting this country a loan and Lithuania acquiring a right to use the port of Liepāja for transportation of goods and services.