Albertas Šimėnas (born 17 February 1950) was

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 ...

of Lithuania for 3 days, from 10 to 13 January 1991. He disappeared during the January Events and was replaced by

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 ...

. Šimėnas graduated from the

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

in 1972 with a degree in economics. He lectured at the

Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) is a public university located in Vilnius, Lithuania. There are 10 faculties including Antanas Gustaitis Aviation Institute, Architecture, Business Management, Civil Engineering, Creative I ...

from 1984 to 1989. He joined activities of

Sąjūdis Sąjūdis (, "Movement"), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), is the political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was es ...

movement and was elected to the

Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas The Supreme Council – Restoration Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (officially known as Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania), was the supreme governing body, elected in 1990. The first meeting was held on 10 March 1990, the last – ...

. On 11 March 1990 he signed the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, declaring Lithuania's independence from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In January 1991, when the first government led by

Kazimira Prunskienė Kazimira Danutė Prunskienė () (born 26 February 1943) is a Lithuanian politician who was the first prime minister of Lithuania after the declaration of independence of 11 March 1990, and Minister of Agriculture in the government of Gediminas Kir ...

resigned due to rising prices, Šimėnas became the Prime Minister of a largely unchanged government. However, as the Soviet Army entered

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

and surrounded key buildings, Šimėnas disappeared. In an emergency session,

took over his cabinet and became the Prime Minister. Šimėnas suddenly reappeared on 14 January. He joined Vagnorius' government as the Minister of Economy on 30 May 1991 and served until the government resigned on 21 July 1992. In 1994, he joined the

Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party The Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party ( lt, Lietuvos krikščionių demokratų partija, LKDP) was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. History Russian Empire and Republic of Lithuania A Christian Democratic movement was e ...

and was elected to the Seventh Seimas in 1996. He ran unsuccessfully in the 2004

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 ...

and

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the 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 adopts ...

elections, after which he joined the private sector. Šimėnas published several academic papers on economy and a monograph about economic reforms in Lithuania from 1990 to 1994.

References

1950 births Living people Prime Ministers of Lithuania Vilnius University alumni People of the Singing Revolution Members of the Seimas {{Lithuania-politician-stub