Dovas Zaunius (19 June 1892 – 22 February 1940) was a Lithuanian lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as Ambassador to Switzerland from 1925 until 1927 and Lithuanian Foreign Minister from 1929 to 1934.

Biography

Zaunius was born in East Prussia as the youngest son of Dovas Zaunius (senior) who was a political and public figure in

Lithuania Minor Lithuania Minor ( lt, Mažoji Lietuva; german: Kleinlitauen; pl, Litwa Mniejsza; russian: Ма́лая Литва́), or Prussian Lithuania ( lt, Prūsų Lietuva; german: Preußisch-Litauen, pl, Litwa Pruska), is a historical ethnographic re ...

. In 1911, he graduated from the Tilsit Gymnasium from there he went on to study law at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. In 1917, Zaunius defended his doctoral thesis in criminal and civil law at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

. During his studies Zaunius joined the Lithuanian Conservative Election Societies headed by his father Dovas Zaunius. During World War I, he served in the German Army and after the German capitulation he was invited to work at the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a qualified lawyer. From 1919 to 1920, he served as acting director of the Policy Department. In 1920, he was appointed Lithuanian affairs trustee in Latvia and Estonia. Zaunius began his diplomatic career after his appointment as

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

of Lithuania to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and Romania (1924–1925). In 1925, he was made envoy to Switzerland and permanent representative of Lithuania to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. In 1927, after the liquidation of the Lithuanian representation at the League of Nations, he returned to Lithuania and was appointed as secretary-general of the Foreign Ministry and envoy to Czechoslovakia. On 8 November 1929, Zaunius became the Lithuanian Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Juozas Tūbelis. During his tenure, Lithuanian diplomats achieved some success at the

Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...

in cases against the Second Polish Republic (concerning rail traffic on the

Libau–Romny Railway Libau–Romny Railway was a railway company that built a railway line in the Russian Empire in 1871–74 to connect Romny in Ukraine with the port in Libau (Liepāja) in present-day Latvia. To do so it passed through Minsk The objective of the r ...

) and the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

(concerning the dismissal of Otto Böttcher, President of the

Directorate of the Klaipėda Region The Directorate of the Klaipėda Region (german: Landesdirektorium; lt, Klaipėdos krašto direktorija) was the main governing institution (executive branch) in the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) from February 1920 to March 1939. It was esta ...

). Zaunius also made progress on forming the

Baltic Entente The Baltic Entente was based on Treaty of Good-Understanding and Co-operation signed between Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia on September 12, 1934 in Geneva. The main objective of the agreement was joint action in foreign policy. It also included c ...

. In 1934–1936, he worked at the State Council of Lithuania, assisting with various agreements with foreign countries. After leaving the State Council in 1936, Zaunius became Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania (1936–1940) and Chairman of the Currency Commission. Zaunius also participated in activities of the

Lithuanian Riflemen's Union The Lithuanian Riflemen's Union (LRU, lt, Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga), also referred to as Šauliai ( lt, šaulys for ''rifleman''), is a paramilitary non-profit organisation supported by the State. The activities are in three main areas: milita ...

Union for the Liberation of Vilnius The Union for the Liberation of Vilnius ( lt, Vilniaus vadavimo sąjunga or ) was an organization established in 1925 to support Lithuanian territorial claims to Vilnius Region then part of the Second Polish Republic. With 27,000 members and 600,0 ...

, and Scout Association of Lithuania. Zaunis worked at the Bank of Lithuania until his death in 1940. He was buried at the Kaunas Evangelical Cemetery (now

Ramybė Park Ramybė Park (, lt, Ramybės parkas) is a public park in Kaunas, Lithuania, established in 1959 in the territory of the Kaunas City Old Cemetery that was also known as the Carmelite Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1847 and became the ma ...

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaunius, Dovas 1892 births 1940 deaths Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Lithuanian diplomats 20th-century Lithuanian lawyers Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni University of Königsberg alumni