The Farmers' Association ( lt, Ūkininkų Sąjunga, ŪS) was a political party in inter-war

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 ...

. Its leaders included

Aleksandras Stulginskis Aleksandras Stulginskis (26 February 1885 – 22 September 1969) was the second President of Lithuania (1920–1926). Stulginskis was also acting President of Lithuania for a few hours later in 1926, following a military coup that was led ...

, Vytautas Petrulis and Kazys Jokantas. A political party, established in 1989 under the same name, claims historical heritage of the ŪS.

History

The party was established as the Lithuanian Peasant League in 1905, and was linked to the ''

Ūkininkas ''Ūkininkas'' or ''Ukinįkas'' (literally: ''The Farmer'') was a monthly Lithuanian-language newspaper published during the Lithuanian press ban by the editorial staff of ''Varpas'' from 1890 to 1905. ''Ūkininkas'' was printed in Tilsit (current ...

'' newspaper.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p. 473 In 1920 it became the "Farmers' Association", and began to associate closely with 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 ...

. The ŪS won 20 seats in the 1920 election, and became part of the Christian Democratic Bloc alongside the Christian Democratic Party and the Labour Federation.McHale, p. 477 Together, the Bloc held a majority in the

First Seimas First Seimas of Lithuania was the first parliament (Seimas) democratically elected in Lithuania after it declared independence on February 16, 1918. History The elections took place on October 10–11, 1922 to replace the Constituent Assembl ...

, and formed a government with the

Peasant Union The Peasant Union ( lt, Valstiečių sąjunga, VS) was a political party in Lithuania. History The party was formed by younger members of the Lithuanian Democratic Party following the Revolution of 1905.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political partie ...

.McHale, p. 487 The ŪS won 12 seats in the 1922 elections, with the Bloc just short of a majority. After governing with the support of independents, early elections were held in 1923 which saw the ŪS win 14 seats and the Bloc gain a parliamentary majority, allowing it to govern alone. The 1926 elections saw a loss of support for the ŪS, as it was reduced to 11 seats. With the Labour Federation losing more than half its seats, the Christian Democratic Bloc lost its majority and control of the government. Following the 1926 coup, the ŪS joined the opposition to the

Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual and journalist and the first President of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1926 to 1940, before its occupation by the Soviet Union. He was one of the m ...

government, and was subsequently suspended by decree in 1928.

References

{{Authority control Defunct political parties in Lithuania Political parties of minorities in Imperial Russia Political parties established in 1905 Political parties disestablished in 1928 1905 establishments in the Russian Empire