Legation

Legations were originally the most common form of diplomatic mission, but they fell out of favor after World War II and were upgraded to embassies.

[2] For example, in the waning years of the Second French Empire, the North German Confederation had an embassy in Paris, while Bavaria and the United States had legations.

[3] The practice of establishing legations gradually fell from favor as the embassy became the standard form of diplomatic mission.

[4] In 1893, the United States followed the French precedent and began sending ambassadors, upgrading its legations to embassies.

[5] The last legations in the world were the Baltic legations,[6][7] which were upgraded to embassies in 1991 after the Baltic states restored their independence from the Soviet Union, and the legations of Finland and Sweden to South Africa, which were upgraded to embassies in 1991[8] and 1 November 1993[9] respectively after the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and as apartheid and the corresponding Nordic diplomatic embargo were coming to an end.