The prime minister of Lithuania ( lt, Ministras Pirmininkas; "Minister-Chairman") is the head of the

government of Lithuania The Government of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Vyriausybė), officially the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (''Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybė'', abbreviated ''LRV''), is the cabinet of Lithuania, exercising executive power in the countr ...

. The prime minister is

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 ...

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, a gro ...

and is appointed 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 ful ...

with the assent of the Lithuanian parliament, 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 amendme ...

. The modern office of prime minister was established in 1990, when Lithuania declared its independence, although the official title was "Chairperson of the Council of Ministers" until 25 November 1992. Historically, the title of prime minister was also used between 1918 and 1940. This was during the original Republic of Lithuania, which lasted from the collapse of the Russian Empire until the country's annexation by the Soviet Union.

Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940)

Following the

ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series o ...

in June 1940, the forces of

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

entered Lithuania, prompting President

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 ...

to flee the country.

Antanas Merkys Antanas Merkys (; 1 February 1887 – 5 March 1955) was the last Prime Minister of independent Lithuania, serving from November 1939 to June 1940. When the Soviet Union presented an ultimatum to Lithuania demanding that it accept a Soviet g ...

, who assumed the position of acting president in accordance with the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, soon announced he had taken over the Presidency on a permanent basis and appointed

Justas Paleckis Justas Paleckis ( – 26 January 1980) was a Lithuanian author, journalist and politician. He was nominal acting president of Lithuania after the Soviet invasion while Lithuania was still ostensibly independent, in office from 17 June to 3 Au ...

, favored by the Soviet authorities, as the Prime Minister ahead of the "people's government". Merkys soon resigned, allowing Paleckis to assume the post of acting president as well. The presidency of Merkys is not recognized as legitimate in modern Lithuania and Paleckis is not listed as an interwar Prime Minister in government sources.

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1990)

;Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Lithuanian SSR *

Mečislovas Gedvilas Mečislovas Gedvilas (19 October 1901 – 15 February 1981) was a Lithuanian Communist politician who collaborated with occupying Soviet forces. He served as the first Prime Minister of the Lithuanian SSR from 1940 to 1956. Rivalry between him and ...

(25 August 1940 – 2 April 1946) (in exile in the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

1941–1944) ;Chairmen of the

Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR The Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR ( lt, Lietuvos TSR Ministrų Taryba) or Council of People's Commissars in 1940–46 ( lt, Lietuvos TSR Liaudies Komisarų Taryba) was the cabinet (executive branch) of the Lithuanian SSR, one of the rep ...

(2 April 1946 – 16 January 1956) *

Motiejus Šumauskas Motiejus or Matas Šumauskas (2 October 1905 in Kaunas – 28 May 1982 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian communist activist and Soviet politician. He served as the chairman of the Council of Ministers (equivalent to Prime Minister) from 1956 to 1963 ...

(16 January 1956 – 14 April 1967) *

Juozas Maniušis Juozas Maniušis ( in Mogilev Governorate – 17 March 1987 in Vilnius) was a communist politician in the Lithuanian SSR specializing in areas of industry, construction, and engineering. Between 1967 and 1981 he was chairman of the Council of Minis ...

(14 April 1967 – 16 January 1981) *

Ringaudas Songaila Ringaudas Bronislovas Songaila (20 April 1929 – 25 June 2019) was an official of the Lithuanian SSR nomenclatura. In 1987–1988, he was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania or the ''de facto'' head of state. Biography Song ...

(16 January 1981 – 18 November 1985) * Vytautas Sakalauskas (18 November 1985 – 17 March 1990)

Provisional Government of Lithuania (1941)

;Acting Prime Minister of the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

* Juozas Ambrazevičius (June 23, 1941 – August 5, 1941)

Republic of Lithuania (1990–present)

List of Prime Ministers (1990–present)

From 11 March 1990 after adopting the

Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of March 11 ( lt, Aktas dėl Lietuvos nepriklausomos valstybės atstatymo) was an independence declaration by Lithuania adopted on March 11, 1990, signed by all members of the S ...

. Political parties and affiliations:

Notes

References

External links

Official site
{{Prime Minister Lithuania, Prime Minister of Lists of political office-holders in Lithuania