Irena Šiaulienė (born 1955) is a Lithuanian politician who is the deputy speaker of

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 ...

, the unicameral parliament of

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 ...

Early life

Irena Šiaulienė was born on 19 February 1955 in

Kolainiai Kolainiai is a village in Kelmė District Municipality, Lithuania. It is located about southwest from Užventis. According to the 2011 census, it had population of 261. In 1750, local noble Adamkavičius bequeathed his manor and land with serfs ...

Kelmė District Municipality Kelmė (; is a city in northwestern Lithuania, a historical region of Samogitia. It has a population of 8,206 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė district municipality. History Kelmė's name may come from the Lithuanian ''kelmynės'' ...

. She attended a school in Telšiai District Municipality before enrolling herself at the History department of

Vilnius State University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

, from where she received her degree (1971–76). She did her PhD in 1987.

Career

From 1976 to 1992, Šiaulienė was an associate professor of history at the Klaipėda University. In 1990, she became a deputy-chair of the Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania. She won the

1992 Lithuanian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania in two stages on 25 October and 15 November 1992. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1201 A total of 141 members were elected to the Seimas, which rep ...

to enter the Sixth

and has since retained her membership and has served on various parliamentary committees. From 2000, she has been the chair of the Democratic Labour Party group in the parliament and was chosen the deputy speaker of the Seimas on 4 July 2017. She is also a member of the commission for the National Historical Memory and that for Addiction Prevention. In 2004, Šiaulienė was awarded the Cross of Commander of the Order for Merits to Lithuania.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Šiaulienė, Irena 1955 births Living people Members of the Seimas 21st-century Lithuanian women politicians 21st-century Lithuanian politicians Vilnius University alumni Academic staff of Klaipėda University Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania politicians Social Democratic Party of Lithuania politicians Social Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania politicians Women members of the Seimas