Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Valdas Tutkus (born 27 December 1960) is a former

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position withi ...

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 ...

. He served in this position from 30 June 2004 to 3 July 2009.

Biography

From 1978 to 1982, he studied at the

Tashkent Higher All-Arms Command School The Tashkent Higher All-Arms Command School () was a military academy of the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan. It was previously known as the Tashkent Higher Combined Arms Command School named after Vladimir Lenin (). It was one of the oldest mi ...

. After 1982, he became a platoon commander. and in 1983 was sent to Afghanistan as part of units of the

Turkestan Military District The Turkestan Military District (russian: Туркестанский военный округ (ТуркВО), ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with it ...

40th Army The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fro ...

. From 1988 to 1991, he studied at the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. By 1991, Tutkus withdrew from the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

and became a founding member of the modern Lithuanian Armed Forces. After the restoration of independence, he served in the 'Iron Wolf' Mechanised Infantry Brigade. In 1995, he was sent to the

NATO Defense College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the f ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. From 1999 to 2001, he served as Military Representative of the Republic of Lithuania to

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. This was concurrent to the post of Defense Attaché to the

Kingdom of Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the ...

. From 2001 to 2004 he was Commander of the

Lithuanian Land Forces The Lithuanian Land Forces (LLF) form the backbone of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, capable of acting as an integral part of NATO forces. Lithuanian Land Forces consist of three brigades, the Engineer Battalion, and the National Defence Volunte ...

. At the end of his term, he became Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. On 24 July 2009,

Arvydas Pocius Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius (born 14 May 1957) is a former Chief of Defence of Lithuania. During his military career, Pocius has held various positions, including Chief of Staff of Voluntary Service of National Defence, and Commander of the ...

was assigned as Chief of Defence and Tutkus was dismissed. From 2014 to 2015, he was Director of the Lithuanian Defense and Security Industry Association.

Personal life

He is married to Lilija, and has a son named Vytautas.

Awards

* Nominal Weapon (2001) *

Order of the Cross of Vytis The Order of the Cross of Vytis ( lt, Vyčio Kryžiaus ordinas) is a Lithuanian presidential award conferred for heroic defence of Lithuania's freedom and independence. November 23 is a holiday in honour of the Order of the Cross of Vytis. His ...

*Cross of the Officer of Vytautas the Great Order * Commemorative Badge of Russian Army withdrawal from Lithuania * Medal of Merit of National Defence System

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tutkus, Valdas Lithuanian generals Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Vytis Frunze Military Academy alumni Tashkent Higher All-Arms Command School alumni 1960 births Living people People from Vilnius NATO Defense College alumni