The Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union ( lt, Lietuvos valstiečių liaudininkų sąjunga, LVLS) was a centre-left political party in

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 ...

between 1922 and 1936. The party's leaders included the third

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 ful ...

Kazys Grinius Kazys Grinius (, 17 December 18664 June 1950) was the third President of Lithuania, and held that office from 7 June 1926 to 17 December 1926. Previously, he had served as the fifth Prime Minister of Lithuania, from 19 June 1920 until his resignat ...

and three-term

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 is not ...

Mykolas Sleževičius Mykolas Sleževičius (21 February 1882 – 11 November 1939) was a Lithuanian lawyer, political and cultural figure, and journalist. One of the most influential figures in inter-war Lithuania, he served as the prime minister of Lithuania on thre ...

History

The party was established in November 1922 by a merger of the

Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party ( lt, Lietuvos socialistų liaudininkų demokratų partija, LSLDP) was a political party in inter-war Lithuania. History The LSLDP was formed in 1917 in Voronezh by Mykolas Sleževičius and Felicija ...

and 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 ...

. At the time the two parties held a combined 19 seats, making it the largest 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 ...

. The new party emerged as the largest faction in the 1923 elections, winning 16 of the 78 seats. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1218 The 1926 elections saw the party increase its seat tally to 22, remaining the largest party in the Seimas. The LVLS formed a coalition government with the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

, but it was overthrown by a military coup in December 1926 which installed the

Lithuanian Nationalist Union The Lithuanian Nationalist Union ( lt, Lietuvių tautininkų sąjunga or LTS), also known as the Nationalists (), was the ruling political party in Lithuania during the authoritarian regime of President Antanas Smetona from 1926 to 1940. The part ...

as the ruling party. The LVLS was banned in 1936.

History

References

Further reading