Emilija Spudaitė-Gvildienė (13 September 1887 – 2 July 1965) was a

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 ...

n educator and politician. In 1920 she was one of five women elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, Lithuania's first female parliamentarians. She remained a member of parliament until 1927.

Biography

Spudaitė-Gvildienė was born in Topeliškės in 1887 into the family of a small trader. She was educated at Riga City School until 1902 and then Riga Krotova Gymnasium, graduating in 1908. The following year she moved to Lithuania and began teaching at a school in

Žemaičių Kalvarija Žemaičių Kalvarija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitiu Kalvarėjė'', pl, Kalwaria Żmudzka, en, Samogitian Calvary) is a small town in Plungė district municipality, Lithuania. It is known as a major site for Catholic pilgrimage. Every July the tow ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she temporarily relocated to Moscow from 1915 to 1917, teaching in the Moscow Lithuanian School. After returning to Lithuania in 1918 she taught at gymnasiums in

Šeduva Šeduva () is a List of cities in Lithuania, city in the Radviliškis district municipality, Lithuania. It is located east of Radviliškis. Šeduva was an agricultural town dealing in cereals, flax and linseed, pigs and geese and horses, at th ...

and

Pakruojis Pakruojis () is a city in Lithuania. It is situated on the Kruoja River, which has a dam above the city. Forty three buildings of the manor, mentioned in 1531 still survive. History Pakruojis and it neighbourhood are within the boundaries of the ...

and founded women's associations in both towns. A member of 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 e ...

, in 1920 she was elected to the Constituent Assembly from constituency V, Panevėžys. She was re-elected in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, 1923 and 1926, serving in the

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 ...

until it was dissolved following the 1926 coup. After the Seimas was disbanded, she served as chair of the Lithuanian Catholic Women's Society. During the 1940s she taught in schools in

Balbieriškis Balbieriškis ( pl, Balwierzyszki; german: Bauwerischeck, Bauwersk; russian: Бальвержишки, Бальберишкис; yi, באַלבירישאָק, Balbirishok) is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. It is situated o ...

, Kalviai and

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

. She died in Kaunas in 1965.Emilija Spudaitė-Gvildienė (1887-1965)
Seimas

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spudaitė-Gvildienė, Emilija 1887 births Lithuanian schoolteachers Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party politicians Members of the Seimas 20th-century Lithuanian women politicians 20th-century Lithuanian politicians 1965 deaths Women members of the Seimas