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Remigijus Šimašius (born 12 January 1974) is a Lithuanian
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
and politician, 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 ...
(2012–2015), Minister of Justice (2008–2012),
Mayor of Vilnius The Mayor of Vilnius, officially the Mayor of the municipality of the city of Vilnius (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''"Vilniaus miesto savivaldybės meras"'') is the head of the Lithuanian municipality of the city of Vilnius. The current incu ...
from 2015 to 2023.


Education

In 1997 Šimašius graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Vilnius University, with a degree in law. In 2002 he attained a PhD, after defending his doctoral dissertation on Legal pluralism at the Lithuanian University of Law (now Mykolas Romeris University). From 2006 to 2008 he was the President of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute. From 9 December 2008 to 13 December 2012 he was the Minister of Justice of the 15th Government headed by Andrius Kubilius.


Chairman of Liberal movement


Background

In May 2016, in the midst of a Liberal Movement bribery scandal, Eligijus Masiulis resigned as chairman and Antanas Guoga took over as the interim chairman. Guoga immediately suggested that bribery was widespread within the party and the party needed to become more transparent, which resulted in an initiative to remove Guoga. Guoga resigned two days after becoming interim chairman.


Election and resignation

In June 2016, Remigijus Šimašius was elected chairman. Since Šimašius took over, around 20 members left the party. Other members broke off Liberal movement and created 2 new political parties. In October 2017, Šimašius left as chairman after 16 months on the job.


Mayor of Vilnius

As mayor of Vilnius, Šimašius renamed a street that had been named after Kazys Škirpa (who formed the
Lithuanian Activist Front The Lithuanian Activist Front or LAF () was a Lithuanian underground resistance organization established in 1940 after the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940), Soviets occupied Lithuania. Its goal was to free Lithuanian Soviet Socialist ...
which went on to carry out massacres of Jews across Lithuania) and removed a memorial to Jonas Noreika (who ordered and oversaw the killings of Lithuanian Jews in Plungė during the Plungė massacre). He said, "It’s clear that their (Škirpa and Noreika) participation in the Holocaust was not an accident. It’s not about plaques or street names, but about principles." Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda subsequently proposed a law that would require municipalities to follow rules from the national government "when installing, removing or changing commemorative plaques", but later tabled the proposed law. In 2021 Šimašius announced that he will not seek a third term in the 2023 election.


Criticism

In March 2015, Šimašius was elected mayor of
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 ...
. As a mayor, Šimašius has received extensive criticism for lack of achievements, and poor leadership. Political editors, other mayors and Lithuanian prime minister are among Šimašius' critics. In an interview with
Lietuvos Rytas ''Lietuvos rytas'' (lit. 'Morning of Lithuania') is a Lithuanian daily newspaper. History and profile "Lietuvos rytas" was established in 1990 on a basis of newspaper "Komjaunimo tiesa". The paper is printed in Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is ...
, Šimašius revealed that he has difficult time accepting criticism and has little regard to what other people think about him. His administration has also been criticized for failing to tackle corruption in public procurement. In particular, Šimašius' deputy Linas Kvedaravičius was criticized for incompetence and lack of transparency, resulting and in a failed
vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
against him. Šimašius himself has been subpoenaed multiple times in the bribery scandal of MG Baltic and Eligijus Masiulis. In October 2017, Šimašius voted to move Vilnius' central bus station from its central location near to the railway station to Pilaitė, a suburb in the outskirts of Vilnius with serious traffic congestion problems. Plans were met with heavy criticism by inhabitants of Vilnius.


2016 achievement report

In April 2016, Šimašius highlighted the achievements over the first year of his administrations, including: * creating additional 2000 daycare places for pre-school children by lowering the license fee for kindergarten teachers and providing a subsidy for parents opting for private kindergartens. * renovating 500 meters of sidewalk along the Neris river bank and 10 km of sidewalks throughout the city * support for innovation, such as
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...
's expansion in Vilnius and the addition of Vilnius public transport timetables to Google Maps * plans to buy 50 new city buses * restructuring the municipal debt Opposition political parties criticized the conference for being filled with self-flattery, for attempting to pass the achievements of previous administrations as personal achievements and because highlighted achievements were relatively minuscule . In 2017, there was no annual press conference on administration's two year achievements.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simasius, Remigijus 1974 births People from Tauragė Ministers of justice of Lithuania Living people Lithuanian legal scholars Members of the Seimas Mayors of Vilnius Liberal Union of Lithuania politicians Liberal Movement (Lithuania) politicians Freedom Party (Lithuania) politicians Vilnius University alumni Mykolas Romeris University alumni