The Latvian Diplomatic Service maintained representation of independent Latvia during the Soviet occupation of their homeland (1940–1991). Latvia was occupied on June 17, 1940 by Red Army troops and officially annexed to the Soviet Union on August 5, 1940. But the United States never recognized the forcible and illegal annexation of the Baltic States in conformity with the principles of the Stimson Doctrine (US Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles`s Declaration of July 23, 1940), and more than 50 countries followed this position. The Republic of Latvia, from 1940 through 1991, continued to exist as a state de jure according to international law during the whole period of its actual occupation and annexation. Therefore, some Latvian diplomatic and consular representations continued to fun