[5] In 1985, Kalniņš moved to Washington DC[5] and began serving as the public information director of the American Latvian Association, a position he held until 1990.

[4] According to Kalniņš, he and other Latvian-American representatives considered leaving the five-day conference early due to threats by Soviet security officials.

[2] After the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR declared restoration of independence of the Republic of Latvia in May 1990, Kalniņš began serving as an advisor for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, helping to organize a meeting between Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis, Foreign Minister Jānis Jurkāns, and United States President George H.W.

[2] In 1994, Kalniņš greeted Bill Clinton at Rīga airport when he became the first United States president to visit a Baltic country on his way to a G7 meeting in Italy.

"[11] After ending his tenure as Ambassador the United States in 1999, Kalniņs became the director of the Latvian Institute,[12] succeeding Vaira Viķe-Freiberga after she was elected President of Latvia.

"[5] In a 2002 interview, Kalniņš explained that the institute's goal was not to create an image for Latvia, but to present elements of Latvian culture to a foreign audience in an understandable way.