Politics of Lithuania takes place in a framework of a

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...

semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

representative democratic republic, whereby the

President of Lithuania The President of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas) is the head of state of Lithuania. The officeholder has been Gitanas Nausėda since 12 July 2019. Powers The president has somewhat more executive authority th ...

is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and the

Prime Minister of Lithuania The prime minister of Lithuania ( lt, Ministras Pirmininkas; "Minister-Chairman") is the head of the government of Lithuania. The prime minister is Lithuania's head of government and is appointed by the president with the assent of the Lithuani ...

is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

, and of a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...

Executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

is exercised by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and the Government, which is headed by the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...

is vested in both the Government and the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

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 amendme ...

(Lithuanian

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Judicial power The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

is vested in judges appointed by the President of Lithuania and is independent of executive and legislature power. The

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

consists of the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeal as well as the separate

administrative court An administrative court is a type of court specializing in administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are considered s ...

s. The

Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija) defines the legal foundation for all laws passed in the Republic of Lithuania. It was approved in a referendum on 25 October 1992. History Statutes of Lithua ...

established these powers upon its approval on 25 October 1992. Being a multi-party system, the government of Lithuania is not dominated by any single

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 ideological or p ...

, rather it consists of numerous parties that must work with each other to form coalition governments.

History

Since Lithuania restored independence on 11 March 1990, it has kept democratic traditions. Drawing from the interwar experiences, politicians made many different proposals that ranged from strong

parliamentarism A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

to a presidential republic with

checks and balances Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

similar to the United States. Through compromise, a semi-presidential system was settled. In a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on 25 October 1992, the first general vote of the people since their declared independence, 56.75% of the total number of voters supported the new constitution. All major political parties declared their support for Lithuania's membership in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(EU). Lithuania joined NATO on 29 March 2004. Lithuania joined the EU on 1 May 2004 and Schengen Area on 21 December 2007 and

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...

on 1 January 2015. Since 1991, Lithuanian voters have shifted from right to left and back again, swinging between the Conservatives, led by

Vytautas Landsbergis Vytautas Landsbergis (born 18 October 1932) is a Lithuanian politician and former Member of the European Parliament. He was the first Speaker of Reconstituent Seimas of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union. He has ...

, and the (formerly Communist)

Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos demokratinė darbo partija, LDDP) was the renamed Communist Party of Lithuania. It was a political party in Lithuania in the 1990s, which claimed to be social-democratic. The youth organization ...

, led by president Algirdas Brazauskas. During this period, the prime minister was

Gediminas Vagnorius Gediminas Vagnorius (born 10 June 1957) is a Lithuanian politician and signatory of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. He served as the Prime Minister of Lithuania, heading the government between 1991 and 1992, and again f ...

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' ...

was the president since 1998. His proposed prime minister was

Rolandas Paksas Rolandas Paksas (; born 10 June 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who was the sixth President of Lithuania from 2003 to 2004. He was previously Prime Minister of Lithuania in 1999 and again from 2000 to 2001, and he also served as Mayor of Vilniu ...

, whose government got off to a rocky start and collapsed within seven months. The alternation between left and right was broken in the October 2000 elections when the Liberal Union and New Union parties won the most votes and were able to form a

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...

ruling coalition with minor partners. President Adamkus played a key role in bringing the new centrist parties together.

Artūras Paulauskas Artūras Paulauskas (born 23 August 1953 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian politician. He was the Speaker of Seimas, the parliament of Lithuania, from 2000 to 2006, and he served as List of Presidents of Lithuania, Acting President of Lithuania from 6 ...

, the leader of the centre-left New Union (also known as the social-liberal party), became the Chairman of the Seimas. In July 2001, the

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

New Union party forged an alliance with the

Social Democratic Party of Lithuania The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija, LSDP) is a centre-left and social democratic political party in Lithuania. Founded as an underground Marxist organization in 1896, it is the oldest extant par ...

and formed a new cabinet under former president Algirdas Brazauskas. On 11 April 2006, Artūras Paulauskas was removed from his position and

Viktoras Muntianas Viktoras Muntianas (born 11 November 1951 in Marijampolė, Lithuanian SSR) is a Lithuanian politician of Moldovan descent and former Speaker of the Seimas. In 1968 he graduated from the high school in Marijampolė. In 1973 he enrolled in the Vi ...

was elected Chairman of the Seimas. The cabinet of Algirdas Brazauskas resigned on 31 May 2006, as President Valdas Adamkus expressed no confidence in two of the Ministers, formerly party colleagues of Brazauskas, over ethical principles. Brazauskas decided not to remain in office as acting Prime Minister, and announced that he was finally retiring from politics. Even so, he led the ruling Social Democratic Party of Lithuania for one more year, until 19 May 2007, when he passed the reins to

Gediminas Kirkilas Gediminas Kirkilas (, born 30 August 1951) is a Lithuanian politician who was Prime Minister of Lithuania from 2006 to 2008. Life and career Kirkilas was born in Vilnius in 1951. After returning from mandatory military service, from 1972 to 197 ...

. On 27 November 2008,

Andrius Kubilius Andrius Kubilius (born 8 December 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Lithuania from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012.LR Vyriausio ...

of conservative Homeland Union was appointed as a Prime Minister. In December 2012 Andrius Kubilius was succeeded by

Algirdas Butkevičius Algirdas Butkevičius (born 19 November 1958) is a Lithuanian politician and was Prime Minister of Lithuania, serving between 2012 and 2016. He also served as the Minister of Finance from 2004 to 2005 and the Minister of Transport and Communicati ...

after his Social Democratic Party became the biggest party in parliamentary

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

. In 2016, The Peasant and Green's Union (LGPU) won parliamentary

. It secured 54 seats in the 141-member parliament (

), making a previously small centrist agrarian party the biggest in parliament. The conservative

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 ...

won 30 seats. The ruling

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, led by Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevciu, lost heavily and secured just 17 seats. On 22 November 2016,

Saulius Skvernelis Saulius Skvernelis (born 23 July 1970) is a Lithuanian politician who served as prime minister of Lithuania between 2016 and 2020. He is currently a member of the Seimas. Previously he served as police commissioner, and was Minister of the Inte ...

of the Lithuanian Peasants and Greens Union, became new Prime Minister. In October 2020, conservative opposition Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) won parliamentary

with 50 seats. Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis’ Union of Farmers and Greens came a distant second with just 32 seats. In November 2020,

Ingrida Šimonytė Ingrida Šimonytė (; born 15 November 1974) is a Lithuanian politician and economist who is the Prime Minister of Lithuania since 11 December 2020. She has been a Member of the Seimas of Antakalnis constituency since 2016 and was Minister of F ...

became new prime minister, after forming a centre-right coalition government of her TS-LKD and two liberal parties.

Government

Government in Lithuania is made up of three branches originally envisioned by enlightenment philosopher

Baron de Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the princip ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

, and

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. Each branch is separate and is set up to do

on each other branch.

Executive branch

The executive branch of the Lithuanian government consists of a President, a Prime Minister, and the President's Council of Ministers. It is in charge of running the government.

President

The

is the

of the country, elected directly for a five-year term and can serve maximum of two terms consecutively. Presidential elections take place in a modified version of the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

. If half of voters participate, a candidate must win a majority of the total valid vote in order to win election in the first round. If fewer than half of voters participate, a candidate can win outright with a plurality and at least one third of the total vote. If the first round does not produce a president, a runoff is held between the top two finishers in the first round, with a plurality sufficient to win. The President, with the approval of the

, is first responsible of appointing the

. Upon the Prime Minister's nomination, the President also appoints, under the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

(13 ministries), as well as a number of other top civil servants and the judges for all courts. The President also serves as the commander-in-chief, oversees foreign and security policy, addresses political problems of foreign and domestic affairs, proclaims states of emergency, considers the laws adopted by the Seimas, and performs other duties specified in the Constitution.Lithuanian Home Page
Lithuanian presidents have somewhat greater power than their counterparts in Estonia and Latvia, but have more influence in foreign policy than domestic policy. Former President

, who had defeated Adamkus in 2003, was impeached in April 2004 for leaking classified information.

Dalia Grybauskaitė Dalia Grybauskaitė (; born 1 March 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the eighth President of Lithuania from 2009 until 2019. She is the first woman to hold the position and in 2014 she became the first President of Lithuania to be ...

, the first female president, served as the President of Lithuania since July 2009 until 2019, winning a reelection bid in 2014. Grybauskaitė succeeded

who had served a total of two non-consecutive terms. In 2019, Gitanas Nauseda won Lithuania's presidential runoff

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

after his opponent

conceded.

Prime Minister

The

is the

of the country, appointed by the President and approved by the Seimas. The Prime Minister, within 15 days of being appointed, is responsible for choosing Ministers for the President to approve to each of the 13 Ministries. In general, the Prime Minister is in charge of the affairs of the country, maintains homeland security, carries out laws and resolutions of the Seimas and decrees of the President, maintains diplomatic relations with foreign countries and international organizations, and performs other duties specified in the Constitution. In practice, the Prime Minister is mostly responsible for domestic policy, while the President mostly handles foreign policy.

Council of Ministers

Similar to the cabinet of other nations, the Council of Ministers consists of 13 Ministers chosen by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President. Each Minister is responsible for his or her own Ministry of the Lithuanian government and must give reports on his or her Ministry when directed to.Lithuania in the European Union – Coordination of European Union Affairs in Lithuania
/ref> When the Prime Minister resigns or dies, the position is to be filled as soon as possible and the new leader will appoint a new Government.

Current office holders

Gitanas Nausėda Gitanas Nausėda (born 19 May 1964) is a Lithuanian economist, politician and banker who is serving as the ninth and incumbent President of Lithuania since 2019. He was previously director of monetary policy at the Bank of Lithuania from 1996 un ...

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, 12 July 2019 , - ,

(endorsed by Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats) , 11 December 2020

Legislative branch

The parliament (

) has 141 members that are elected for a 4-year term. About half of the members are elected in

single-member districts A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...

(71), and the other half (70) are elected in the nationwide vote using

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

by party lists. A party must receive at least 5% of the national vote to be represented in the Seimas.

Political parties and elections

2019 presidential election

2020 parliamentary election

2019 European election

Judicial branch

The judges of the

Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (in lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinis Teismas) is the constitutional court of the Republic of Lithuania, established by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania of 1992. It began the ...

(''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinis Teismas'') for a single nine-year term are appointed by the

from the candidates presented by the President (three judges), Chairman of Seimas (three judges) and the chairman of the Supreme Court (three judges).

Administrative divisions

Lithuania has a three-tier administrative division: the country is divided into 10 counties (Lithuanian: singular – ''apskritis'', plural – ''apskritys'') that are further subdivided into 60 municipalities (Lithuanian: singular – ''savivaldybė'', plural – ''savivaldybės'') which consist of over 500 elderships (Lithuanian: singular – ''seniūnija'', plural – ''seniūnijos''). The county governors (Lithuanian: ''apskrities viršininkas'') institution and county administrations have been dissolved in 2010.(Republic of Lithuania Annul Law on County Governing)

law database, 7 July 2009, Law no. XI-318. Municipalities are the most important administrative unit. Some municipalities are historically called "district municipalities", and thus are often shortened to "district"; others are called "city municipalities", sometimes shortened to "city". Each municipality has its own elected government. In the past, the election of municipality councils occurred once every three years, but it now takes place every four years. The council appoints elders to govern the elderships. Mayors are elected directly since 2015, being appointed by the council before that. Justinas Vanagas
Seimo Seimas įteisino tiesioginius merų rinkimus
, Delfi.lt, 26 June 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.

International organization participation

Notes

References

External links

Erik Herron's Guide to Politics of East Central Europe and Eurasia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of Lithuania