Petras Auštrevičius (born 16 May 1963) is a Lithuanian liberal politician, diplomat, civil society activist, former member of

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...

, and since 2014, a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

Education

In 1981, Auštrevičius graduated from Vilnius Secondary School No. 39. Afterwards, he continued his studies at

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

in the Faculty of Economics, where he received a degree in economics in 1986. He then worked as a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute of Economics, located at the

Lithuanian Academy of Sciences The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences or LMA (, ) is a state-funded independent organization in Lithuania dedicated for science and research. Its mission is to mobilize prominent scientists and initiate activities that would strengthen the welfare ...

, from 1988 to 1991. From 1992 to 1993, Auštrevičius pursued a diplomat-training program at the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...

at the

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Professional career

From 1991 to 1992, Auštrevičius worked as a Senior Specialist and was the First Secretary in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Lithuania) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania () is a governmental body of the Republic of Lithuania that shapes the national policy, and organises, coordinates, and controls its enforcement in the following areas: foreign affairs ...

. He was subsequently appointed as the Head of the Nordic States Division for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served from 1992 to 1993. In 1993, Auštrevičius became a Chargé d'Affaires ad Interim of the

Republic of Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

to the Republic of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, a position he held until 1994. From 1994 to 1997, he served as Lithuania's Ambassador to Finland, and at the age of 31, became the youngest ambassador in Lithuanian history. Following this placement, he worked as Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Policy. Auštrevičius then became the Director General for the European Committee under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania in 1998, after which he acted as Chancellor in the Office of the Government from 1999 to 2000. In 2000, he was appointed as an Ambassador at Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Afterwards, in 2002, Auštrevičius worked as a Chief Negotiator for Lithuania's Membership of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. From 2000 to 2003, he held the position of Director General at European Committee under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, later serving as a lecturer at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University from 2003 to 2004. In 2004, Auštrevičius became a Deputy Chancellor of the Government for European Union Affairs.

Political career

Member of the Lithuanian Parliament (2004–2014)

During a span of ten years (2004–2014), Auštrevičius was a member of

(Lithuanian Parliament), where he served three terms until his election to the European Parliament in 2014. Auštrevičius vigorously involved himself with Lithuanian foreign affairs and foreign policy fields, where he worked to develop Lithuania's relations with the EU. Initially, he served as the Deputy Speaker of the Board of the Seimas, the deputy chair at Committee on European Affairs, and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In addition to these positions, he acted as members of the Commission on the Problems of the

Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant () is a Nuclear decommissioning, decommissioned two-unit RBMK-1500 nuclear power plant, nuclear power station in Visaginas Municipality, Lithuania. It was named after the nearby city of Ignalina. Due to the plant' ...

, the Commission for NATO Affairs, and the Conference of Chairs, also serving as Deputy Chair of the Seimas Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Regarding his political affiliation, Auštrevičius was a member of the Liberal and Centre Union of Lithuania. However, in 2006, he co-founded the Liberals Movement of Lithuania, and from 2006 to 2008, served as its chairman.

Member of the European Parliament (2014–present)

In the 2014 European elections, Auštrevičius was elected as a member of

. At the European Parliament he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and was a chair the delegation for relations with Afghanistan for his second term already. Petras Auštrevičius is European Parliament's standing rapporteur for Belarus (2019-2024). ''2014-2019 term'' He was appointed as vice-president of the ALDE (Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) political faction for the period 2014–2017. Auštrevičius was acting as a coordinator for ALDE in the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI). In addition to these positions, he was a substitute member for each the Committee on Regional Development (REGI), Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (PANA), the Delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, and the Delegation to the

Euronest Parliamentary Assembly The EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly is the inter-parliamentary forum in which members of the European Parliament and the national parliaments of Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia participate and forge closer political and economic ...

. Petras Auštrevičius was European Parliament's standing rapporteur on Moldova (2014-2019). As a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Auštrevičius was charged with assessing the

European Union Association Agreement A European Union Association Agreement or simply Association Agreement (AA) is a treaty between the European Union (EU, or its predecessors), its Member States and a non-EU country or bloc of countries that governs bilateral relations. Areas freq ...

with

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

for the Parliament. ''2019-2024 term'' During his second term in the European Parliament, Petras Auštrevičius was a full member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), a coordinator for the Renew Europe group in the EP Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) and was a substitute member of the EP Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN). He was a chairman of the Working Group on Companion Animals at the EP's Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals and a chairman of the group of friends of EP "European Ukraine". ''2024-2029 term'' Following the

2024 European Parliament election The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth Elections to the European Parliament, parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct electio ...

, he was elected to the European Parliament for the 3rd time. During 2024-2029 he is a full member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), the Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE), the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee (D-UA) and a substitute member of the Committee on International Trade (INTA) and the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (DEPA). During the 10th European Parliament, Petras Auštrevičius is the European Parliament's standing shadow rapporteur on

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, standing rapporteur on EU enlargement. In 2015, news media reported that Auštrevičius was included in a Russian blacklist of prominent people from the

who are not allowed to enter the country.

Awards

* Cross of Commander of the

Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...

(1998) * Medal to commemorate Lithuania's membership of the EU and NATO (2004) * Order of Honor of Georgia (2013) * Order of Merit of Ukraine, Third Class (2015), Second Class (2024).

Other Activities

* European Endowment for Democracy (EED), Member of the Board of Governors * IGroup of Friends in Support of Democracy in Cambodia, Founder and Chairman (since 2017) * Institute of Liberal Thought, Co-founder * Lithuanian Free Market Institute, Co-founder Auštrevičius was one of the initiators and supporters of the public movement Knowledge Economy Forum and public initiative People for Animals. In 2005, he co-founded and served as a president of a discussion Europos Klubas (English: European Club) at Seimas, founded Vilnius University Alumni Society of the Faculty of Economics. In December 2014, Auštrevičius founded the EU Informal Group "Friends of European Ukraine" in the European Parliament. He is a member of the board of the public organization ' Union of European Federalists in Lithuania'. He is also currently the only Lithuanian MEP who is a member of the

European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights The European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights is an intergroup of the European Parliament's legislators which focuses on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons both inside and outside the European Uni ...

.Members
European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights.

Publications

* Rinkos Ekonomika ir Valstybės Reguliavimas (Market Economy and State Regulation) * Šiuolaikinių Ekonomikos Terminų Enciklopedinis Žodynas (Encyclopedic Dictionary of Modern Economic Terms) * Lithuania's Road to the European Union: Unification of Europe and Lithuania's EU Accession Negotiation, The Accession Story – The EU from Fifteen to Twenty-five Countries * Co-author of 10 brochures; author of press articles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austrevicius, Petras 1963 births Living people Members of the Seimas Ambassadors of Lithuania to Finland MEPs for Lithuania 2014–2019 MEPs for Lithuania 2019–2024 Liberal Movement (Lithuania) MEPs Vilnius University alumni Commander's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class MEPs for Lithuania 2024–2029