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Europe
Lithuania |
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(Lietuvos Respublika)
Last reviewed: 11 August 2009 |
Country information
POLITICS
Recent Political Developments
Lithuanian domestic politics, like other Baltic states, have been marked by consensus over accession to NATO and the EU, both of which have now been achieved. While political parties and coalitions have tended to be fluid, there has been little change to the country's politics. Lithuania's first independent government was formed by the independence movement Sajudis. Its leader Landsbergis became de facto head of state in March 1990. The first Presidential election was held in 1993 and was won by the former Communist Algirdas Brazauskas. He was succeeded in 1998 by the centrist Valdas Adamkus. Adamkus then lost in the January 2003 Presidential election to Rolandas Paksas. But almost as soon as Paksas' term of office started allegations began to circulate concerning the financing of his presidential campaign and contacts with individuals in Russia. Following a parliamentary commission investigation Paksas was impeached by the Lithuanian parliament on 6 April 2004 and on the same day parliament adopted a resolution appointing Parliamentary Chairman (Speaker) Arturas Paulauskas as acting President. Valdas Adamkus was re-elected President of Lithuania on 27 June 2004 in a nail-biting second round vote. In the end he took 52% against Ms Kazimeira Prunskiene's 48%. On 17 May 2009 Dalia Grybauskaite was elected President taking 56 of Lithuania’s 60 districts. Grybauskaite is Lithuania’s first female President.
Algirdas Brazauskas led broadly centre-left governments from mid-2001 (re-elected November 2004) until he resigned as Prime Minister in June 2006. Intense inter-Party negotiations then led to a minority coalition government under former Minister of National Defence Gedminias Kirkilas being approved by the Parliament on 19 July 2006. Kirkilas' government includes Ministers from his own Social Democratic Party, the Farmers' Party, and the Liberal Centrist Party.
