The Lithuanian Centre Union, or Centre Union of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos centro sąjunga, LCS), was a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

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 ...

that existed between 1993 and 2003.

History

It was established by the centre-fraction in

Sąjūdis Sąjūdis (, "Movement"), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), is the political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was es ...

in 1990 as the Lithuanian Centre Movement. In 1992 parliamentary election the movement failed to pass 4 per cent threshold and won only 2 seats. In 1993 the movement was reorganised to party. In 1995 municipal elections the party entered many municipal councils and joined coalition with the

Homeland Union The Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats ( lt, Tėvynės sąjunga Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai, TS–LKD), also known colloquially simply as the Conservatives, is a centre-right political party in Lithuania. It has 18,000 mem ...

and the

Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party The Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party ( lt, Lietuvos krikščionių demokratų partija, LKDP) was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. History Russian Empire and Republic of Lithuania A Christian Democratic movement was es ...

. In 1996 parliamentary election the party won 8.67 per cent of the votes and 14 seats. It signed agreement of

confidence and supply In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house. A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of parl ...

with the Homeland Union and the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party. in 1997 presidential election the Centre Union supported

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' ...

, who won election. In spring of 2000, the Centre Union joined informal alliance between the

New Union (Social Liberals) The New Union (Social Liberals) ( lt, Naujoji sąjunga (socialliberalai), NS) was a social-liberal political party in Lithuania. The NS was a member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) and an observer of the Liberal Internatio ...

, the

Liberal Union of Lithuania The Liberal Union of Lithuania () was a liberal political party in Lithuania. History The party was founded on the 25th of November, 1990 on a basis of the Vilnius University Liberal Club. Its first leader was Vilnius University philosophy profe ...

and the

Modern Christian-Democratic Union Modern Christian-Democratic Union, ( lt, Modernieji krikščionys demokratai) was a political party in Lithuania that existed between 1998 and 2003. In 2003 the party joined forces with the Liberal Union of Lithuania (''Lietuvos liberalų sąjung ...

(known as the New Politics Coalition). In 2000 parliamentary election the party won 2.86 per cent of the votes and 2 seats. Coalition as a whole failed to win majority of the seats in

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendmen ...

and relied from the support of

Lithuanian Peasants Party The Lithuanian Peasants Party ( lt, Lietuvos valstiečių partija, LVP) was a political party in Lithuania. History The party was established in 1990 as the Lithuanian Peasants Union, before becoming the Lithuanian Peasants Party in 1994.Dieter N ...

and

Young Lithuania Young Lithuania ( lt, Partija "Jaunoji Lietuva") is a nationalist political party in Lithuania. The party has no seats in the Seimas, European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union an ...

. Coalition lasted only 8 months. In 2003 the party joined forces with the Liberal Union of Lithuania and the Modern Christian-Democratic Union to form the

Liberal and Centre Union The Liberal and Centre Union ( lt, Liberalų ir centro sąjunga, LiCS) was a conservative-liberal political party in Lithuania active between 2003 and 2014. It was a member of the Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats f ...

References

External links

Official website in Lithuanian, archived as for April, 2000
Centrist parties in Lithuania Defunct agrarian political parties Defunct political parties in Lithuania Liberal parties in Lithuania Political parties established in 1993 Political parties disestablished in 2003 1993 establishments in Lithuania 2003 disestablishments in Lithuania {{lithuania-party-stub