Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas (, 1932 – 2010) was the first
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
(fourth overall) of a newly re-independent
post-Soviet
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
from 1993 to 1998 and
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
from 2001 to 2006.
He also served as head of the
Communist Party of Lithuania
The Communist Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos komunistų partija; russian: Коммунистическая партия Литвы) is a banned communist party in Lithuania. The party was established in early October 1918 and operated clan ...
that broke with Moscow.
Biography
Brazauskas was born in Rokiškis, Lithuania. He finished
Kaišiadorys
Kaišiadorys () is a city in central Lithuania. It is situated between Vilnius and Kaunas. Kaišiadorys is one of six Lithuanian diocese centres. It is home to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Christ built in 1932. The Lithuanian Veterinar ...
High School in 1952 and graduated from
Kaunas Polytechnic Institute
Kaunas University of Technology (abbreviated as KTU, ) is a public research university located in Kaunas, Lithuania. Established in 1922, KTU has been one of the top centers of Lithuanian science education. According to Lithuanian National Univ ...
in 1956 with a degree in
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
. He later served as a
Conscript
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
sailor in the
Soviet Navy, serving as a
Fire controlman on board the
Riga-class frigate
The Riga class was the NATO reporting name for class of frigates built for the Soviet Navy in the 1950s. The Soviet designation for these ships was ''Storozhevoi Korabl'' (escort ship) ''Project 50 Gornostay'' ('' Ermine stoat''). The Riga clas ...
''Rosomacha'' until 1960. In 1967 Brazauskas started working in the Governmental Planning Committee, as a Committee's head's assistant. In 1974, Brazauskas received PhD in economics.
Family
He divorced his first wife, Julia, with whom he had two daughters; he married Kristina Butrimienė in 2002.
Political career
He took various positions in the government of
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...
and
Communist Party of Lithuania
The Communist Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos komunistų partija; russian: Коммунистическая партия Литвы) is a banned communist party in Lithuania. The party was established in early October 1918 and operated clan ...
since 1965:
* 1965–1967, the minister of construction materials industry of Lithuanian SSR
* 1967–1977, deputy chairman of State Planning Committee of Lithuanian SSR.
* 1977–1987, secretary of Central Committee of
Communist Party of Lithuania
The Communist Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos komunistų partija; russian: Коммунистическая партия Литвы) is a banned communist party in Lithuania. The party was established in early October 1918 and operated clan ...
.
![Vytautas Landsbergis and Algirdas Brazauskas (March 1990)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Vytautas_Landsbergis_and_Algirdas_Brazauskas_%28March_1990%29.jpg)
In the 1980s, he transformed himself from a Communist Party apparatchik to a moderate reformer. He was seen as cautious by nature, and when confronted by the tide of nationalist feeling in the Soviet Union, Brazauskas initially believed that the USSR might be reconstituted as a looser federation of independent, but communist, states. In seeing the tide of an independent democracy, he joined the reformist cause observing in 1990 that "We are realists now, and we cannot be propagating any utopian ideas. It's no secret
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
the Communist Party has a dirty history."
In 1988, he became the
first secretary First Secretary may refer to:
* First minister, a leader of a government
* Secretary (title), a leader of a political party (especially Communist parties), trade union, or other organization
* First Secretary (diplomatic rank), a role within an emba ...
of the Communist Party of Lithuania. Under his leadership, the majority of the Communist Party of Lithuania supported the Lithuanian
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
movement, broke away from the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
and transformed itself into social-democratic
Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania
Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos demokratinė darbo partija, LDDP) was the renamed Communist Party of Lithuania. It was a political party in Lithuania in the 1990s, which claimed to be social-democratic. The youth organizati ...
(now merged into the
Lithuanian Social Democratic Party
The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija, LSDP) is a centre-left and social democratic political party in Lithuania. Founded as an underground Marxist organization in 1896, it is the oldest extant party i ...
). Brazauskas was Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
(head of state) from 15 January until 11 March 1990.
Though he sought to avoid a breach with Moscow in 1989, as leader of Lithuania's Communist Party, he formally severed the party's links with Moscow. This was rare in that no other former Soviet republics dared to take this step. Some believe that this act confirmed the inevitability of the demise of the Soviet Union.
After the 1992 parliamentary elections, he became speaker of the parliament and acting President of Lithuania on 25 November 1992. He then won the presidential election with 60 percent of the vote and was confirmed as president on 25 February 1993. He immediately suspended his membership in the Democratic Labour Party; the Constitution does not allow the president to be a formal member of a political party during his tenure. He decided not to seek reelection, and handed the presidency to his successor,
Valdas Adamkus
Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian-American politician, diplomat and civil engineer. He served as the 5th and 7th President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.
Adamkus' ...
, on 25 February 1998.
Retirement
Brazauskas said he planned to retire from politics and wanted to be "an ordinary pensioner."
During the initial two years in retirement he wrote on a book, though it was incomplete. He said he would continue writing it after his second stint in government. He also said he would finish "household work" and that he likes physical work. He added that "I have no estates, but the property I own needs to be put in good order." He wanted to live "in a way that other people live."
Return to politics
He subsequently returned to politics saying he "always had something to do in life."
This time he was Prime Minister from 3 July 2001, appointed by the parliament, until 1 June 2006, when his government resigned as President
Valdas Adamkus
Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian-American politician, diplomat and civil engineer. He served as the 5th and 7th President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.
Adamkus' ...
expressed no confidence in two of the Ministers, formerly Labour Party colleagues of Brazauskas, over ethical principles.
His government resigned on 2006 after the large
Labour Party left the governing coalition. Brazauskas decided not to remain in office as acting Prime Minister, and announced that he was finally retiring from politics. He said "I tried to be a pensioner for several years, and I think I was successful. I hope for success this time, as well."
He led the ruling Social Democratic Party of Lithuania for one more year, until 2007, when he passed the reins to
Gediminas Kirkilas
Gediminas Kirkilas (, born 30 August 1951) is a Lithuanian politician who was Prime Minister of Lithuania from 2006 to 2008.
Life and career
Kirkilas was born in Vilnius in 1951. After returning from mandatory military service, from 1972 to 197 ...
.
He served as the honorary chairman of the party, and remained an influential voice in party politics.
[
]
Honours
Algirdas Brazauskas was honored with the various decorations, among others the Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain, Grand Cross Order of Vytautas the Great. Days before his death Russian President
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
awarded Brazauskas with the Order of Honour for his significant contribution to cooperation between Russia and Lithuania and good neighborly relations. Brazauskas was also an honorary member of th
International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
Illness and death
Brazauskas was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer
Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
in December 2008. He died on 26 June 2010 from cancer, aged 78. At the time of his death, he was still considered an influential figure in Lithuanian politics.
Following his death the obituaries
An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...
wrote of him that he had a "frame to match his indefatigable stature and a calm but commanding presence that could fill any stage." His successor as president, Valdas Adamkus
Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian-American politician, diplomat and civil engineer. He served as the 5th and 7th President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.
Adamkus' ...
, said that he "dared to decide which side to choose in a critical moment."
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė
Dalia Grybauskaitė (; born 1 March 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the eighth President of Lithuania from 2009 until 2019. She is the first woman to hold the position and in 2014 she became the first President of Lithuania to be ...
said "The memory of the first directly elected president of Lithuania after it restored its independence, of a strong and charismatic personality, will remain for a long time in the hearts of the Lithuanian people."
References
External links
*
*
ALGIRDAS MYKOLAS BRAZAUSKAS - Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Akto signataras
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazauskas, Algirdas
1932 births
2010 deaths
20th-century Lithuanian politicians
21st-century Lithuanian politicians
People from Rokiškis
Heads of state of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
People's commissars and ministers of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
Presidents of Lithuania
Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania politicians
First Secretaries of the Communist Party of Lithuania
Kaunas University of Technology alumni
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
Prime Ministers of Lithuania
Social Democratic Party of Lithuania politicians
Lithuanian communists
Collars of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin
Commanders of the Order of Honour (Greece)
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry
Grand Crosses of the Order of Vytautas the Great
Grand Crosses with Golden Chain of the Order of Vytautas the Great
Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
Recipients of the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia)
Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class
Speakers of the Seimas
People of the Singing Revolution
Deaths from cancer in Lithuania
Deaths from lymphoma
Deaths from prostate cancer
Burials at Antakalnis Cemetery
Signatories of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania