Albertas Šimėnas (born 17 February 1950) was

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

for 3 days, from 10 to 13 January 1991. He disappeared during the

January Events The January Events () were a series of violent confrontations between the civilian population of Lithuania, supporting independence, and the Soviet Armed Forces. The events took place between 11 and 13 January 1991, after the Act of the Re-Esta ...

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 ...

. Šimėnas graduated from the

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 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 ...

from 1984 to 1989. He joined activities of

Sąjūdis The Sąjūdis (, ), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania (), is a political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on 3 June 1988 as the first oppositi ...

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. Its first meeting was held on 10 March 1990, and its last ...

. On 11 March 1990 he signed 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 11 March () was an Declaration of independence, independence declaration by Lithuania adopted on 11 March 1990, signed by all members of the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Se ...

, declaring Lithuania's independence from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. 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 on 11 March 1990, and then Minister of Agriculture in the government of Gedimin ...

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

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

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 (, LKDP) was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. History Russian Empire and Republic of Lithuania A Christian Democratic movement was established in Lithuania in 1890 by a group of Ro ...

and was elected to the Seventh Seimas in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. He ran unsuccessfully in the 2004

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

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 ...

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