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Lithuania

Lithuania, 1990 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united for the first time by Mindaugas, who formed the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. Towards the end of World War I, Lithuania declared independence in 1918, founding the modern Republic of Lithuania. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to break away when it proclaimed the restoration of its independence. On 20 April 1990, the Soviets imposed an economic blockade by ceasing to deliver raw materials to Lithuania.

Seat of power: Vilnius

Rulers

Kazimira Prunskienė

Prime Minister of Lithuania, 1990–1991

Kazimira Prunskienė was a Lithuanian politician who was the first prime minister of Lithuania after the re-establishment of the State of Lithuania in 1990. Prunskienė was the leader of the Peasants and New Democratic Party Union and the Lithuanian People's Party.

Portrait of Kazimira Prunskienė: Baltic Development Forum from Denmark, CC BY 2.0, file

Gediminas Vagnorius

Prime Minister of Lithuania, 1991–1992

He is a Lithuanian politician and signatory of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. He served as the Prime Minister of Lithuania from 1991 to 1992 and from 1996 to 1999.

Portrait of Gediminas Vagnorius: Mark Renders, CC BY 4.0, file

Albertas Šimėnas

Prime Minister of Lithuania, 1991–1991

He served as Prime Minister of Lithuania for 3 days, from 10 to 13 January 1991. He disappeared during the January Events and was replaced by Gediminas Vagnorius.

Algirdas Brazauskas

President of the Republic of Lithuania, 1992–1998

Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas was the fourth president of Lithuania, in office from 1993 to 1998. Brazauskas was the first democratically elected president of post-Soviet Lithuania.

Portrait of Algirdas Brazauskas: Magnus Fröderberg, CC BY 2.5 dk, file

Valdas Adamkus

President of the Republic of Lithuania, 1998–2009

Adamkus' first tenure as president lasted for five years, from 26 February 1998 to 26 February 2003. He is considered by some as being one of the best Lithuanian leaders in modern history.

Portrait of Valdas Adamkus: Blowwhite, CC0, file

Rolandas Paksas

President of the Republic of Lithuania, 2003–2004

Rolandas Paksas served as the sixth president of Lithuania from 2003 until his impeachment in April 2004. Paksas was later impeached and removed from office by a parliamentary vote on 6 April 2004.

Portrait of Rolandas Paksas: Christian CREUTZ, European Parliament, file

Artūras Paulauskas

President of the Republic of Lithuania, 2004–2004

Artūras Paulauskas was Speaker of Seimas, the parliament of Lithuania, from 2000 to 2006. He served as acting President of Lithuania from 6 April to 12 July 2004.

Portrait of Artūras Paulauskas: Cropped by Blowwhite, Original by European Parliament, European Parliament, file

Dalia Grybauskaitė

President of the Republic of Lithuania, 2009–2019

She is the first and so far only woman to hold the position and in 2014 she became the first President of Lithuania to be reelected for a second consecutive term. She is often referred to as the "Iron Lady", or the "Steel Magnolia".

Portrait of Dalia Grybauskaitė: Algirdas Gataveckas, CC BY 4.0, file

Gitanas Nausėda

President of the Republic of Lithuania, 2019 to today

Gitanas Nausėda is serving as the ninth and incumbent president of Lithuania since 2019. He was re-elected for a second term on 26 May 2024.

Portrait of Gitanas Nausėda: FinnishGovernment, CC BY 4.0, file

Culture

Picture

The Old Town of Vilnius is one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in Northern Europe, as inscribed within UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Image: BigHead, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.