Augustinas Voldemaras

Voldemaras first entered politics as a student in Saint Petersburg. The wave of nationalism sweeping Lithuania did not elude him and the many other Lithuanians in the Russian Empire — prominent voices started calling for Lithuanian independence or autonomy within the Empire. Voldemaras joined the activities of the newly established Party of National Progress in 1916 and joined one of the Lithuanian student groups in Saint Petersburg, representing it at the Petrograd Seimas in June 1917 and the Congress of Non-Sovereign Nations in Kiev in September 1917.[5] In 1918, he represented the Lithuanian interests at the peace negotiations for the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Germany and the Soviet Russia. Since Lithuania was not part of the negotiations, he was officially part of the delegation of the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic. His influence at the conference was minimal and Lithuania was claimed by Germany as part of the settlement.

The Council of Lithuania in 1918. Augustinas Voldemaras is standing on the far right

In 1918, Voldemaras finally returned to Lithuania and was invited to join the Council of Lithuania after several members had left the council in protest of its alignment with Germany. One of the many problems facing the council was the lack of unity among Lithuanian organizations — several were claiming to represent Lithuania on the international stage. In September 1918, Voldemaras, together with Smetona, participated in a conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, helping to unite the organizations behind the Council of Lithuania. Events moved rapidly after the defeat of Germany in the World War I, with Germany recognizing the Lithuanian independence and its army withdrawing. The Presidium of the Council of Lithuania, which had been acting as a collective head of state, chose Voldemaras as the first Prime Minister of Lithuania and allowed him to form the government.[5]

Voldemaras assumed power on 11 November 1918 and started forming the cabinet, taking two cabinet positions for himself: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense. Voldemaras's first stated priority was to ensure the internal stability of the country, hoping that a statement of neutrality would be enough to deter foreign interference for a time. Nevertheless, On 23 November he signed the order creating the Lithuanian armed forces and appointed General Kyprian Kandratovich as the Deputy Minister of Defense—this appointment proved to be very unpopular. Kondratovich, who was an ethnic Russian and was viewed with suspicion by many, failed to take measures to organize the defense of the country and proposed to move the government to Grodno when Vilnius was threatened by Soviet advance. He was dismissed on 24 December 1918.

Voldemaras, together with President Smetona, left Lithuania on 21 December 1918. The stated purpose of the trip was to secure a badly needed loan from Germany and to participate in the Versailles Peace Conference, but the departure generated outrage in Lithuania where Voldemaras was seen as fleeing the Soviet advance. In absentia, he was replaced as the Prime Minister on 26 December 1918 by Mykolas Sleževičius. Furious with the events, Voldemaras nevertheless continued working as the Minister of Foreign affairs and stayed in Versailles representing Lithuania.

The Lithuanian representatives in Versailles focused on receiving recognition of the independent Lithuania and its borders, as well as securing support in the struggle against Bolsheviks. Voldemaras and his colleagues found little support for their goals among the great powers: those supporting a strong Russia saw Lithuania as an integral part of that state, while the proponents of Poland as a bulwark against bolshevism thought Lithuanian independence would weaken it. Voldemaras similarly found it difficult to secure recognition for Lithuania after the end of the conference, with the United States refusing recognition in November 1919 (granting it only in 1922) and Soviet Russia refusing peace negotiations at the beginning of 1920.[5]

In June 1920, Voldemaras resigned together with the rest of the cabinet to make way for the government formed on the basis of the elections to the constituent assembly. Voldemaras did not take part in the assembly, instead returning to academia.

Even when working in academia, Voldemaras continued publishing political articles and essays, often critical of the government. In 1923, his political writings earned him a punishment of one month of forced labor in Varniai.[4] In 1926, Voldemaras was elected to the Seimas[6] and was particularly critical of the President Kazys Grinius and his government that came to power after the elections of 1926. He saw Grinius as too lenient on minority rights and advocated for a stronger, more dictatorial government in the mold of fascist regimes that were gaining power in much of Europe at the time.

In 1926, a segment of the army that disagreed with the policies of Grinius administration planned a military coup d'état. They appealed to Voldemaras and Antanas Smetona, now the leaders of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union, to support them, both of whom agreed. The coup took place on 17 December, deposing Grinius and installing Smetona as the president for a second time and Voldemaras as the prime minister. To assuage public opinion, in both Lithuania and the outside world, Grinius agreed to appoint Voldemaras as the Prime Minister, on a condition that the latter would uphold the constitution of 1922. Although Voldemaras made this commitment, he and Smetona would renege on it within a year when the Third Seimas was dissolved and no new elections were called. Voldemaras joked at the time that he had promised to hold elections, but made no promises on the year they would be held in.[3] The move prompted the Christian Democrats to leave the government, leaving the Nationalist Union as the sole governing party. Finally, in 1928, the constitution of 1922 was scrapped altogether and replaced by a new constitution without following the constitutional procedures and without any sort of approval from the voters or the legislature.

Augustinas Voldemaras (sitting on the left) and Gustav Stresemann in Berlin (1928)

Voldemaras again assumed the role of the minister of foreign affairs together with that of prime minister, seeing foreign relations as the key issue for the government. In January 1928, Voldemaras signed a border treaty with Germany, in which Germany accepted the Lithuanian possession of Klaipėda (Memel). A trade agreement was also signed with the United Kingdom in the same year.

1926-27 saw the establishment of Geležinis Vilkas (Iron Wolf) organization among right-wing army officers and students.[7] Ostensibly a youth sport organization and registered as such in 1928,[4] Iron Wolf was heavily nationalistic and had a stated purpose of combating the enemies of the state. Their ideology and practices (initiates would kiss an iron dagger as part of their initiation ceremony) were outside the comfort zone of many among the populace and the political elite. Although Smetona was the honorary head of the organization, it was Voldemaras who actively participated in managing it. His personality and oratory skills attracted adherents among the younger nationalist officers, who were favorably impressed by the emerging fascism, and who were displeased with what they perceived as Smetona's more moderate course.[5] On the other hand, Voldemaras was unpopular with foreign representatives in Lithuania, who perceived him as too radical and arrogant.[3][8]

The activities of Geležinis Vilkas and Voldemaras's more radical stance created friction between him and Smetona. As early as the beginning of 1929, Smetona was preparing to oust Voldemaras from the government. These initial plans were revised by an attempt on Voldemaras's life in May.[4]

On 6 May 1929, as Voldemaras, his wife and their friends were approaching a theater in Kaunas, they were shot on from behind. At least seven shots were fired, killing Voldemaras's adjutant and injuring several others. Voldemaras and his wife escaped unharmed, but his nephew was seriously hurt.[9] Three Lithuanian students, members of Aušrininkai, were accused of involvement in the assassination attempt, with one of them sentenced and executed. The outpouring of public and international support made it impossible for Smetona to dismiss Voldemaras, but pushed the latter to get even more involved with Geležinis Vilkas.[5]

On 19 September 1929, while attending a meeting of the League of Nations, Voldemaras was ousted by President Smetona after the cabinet resigned. Smetona installed his brother-in-law Juozas Tūbelis as the Prime Minister.[7][3] In 1930, he was exiled to Plateliai and later to Zarasai, where he lived under police surveillance.[6] It was from Zarasai that he was flown into Kaunas during an attempted coup against Smetona in June 1934. Several officers sympathetic to Voldemaras and associated with Geležinis Vilkas attempted to replace Smetona, but the coup did not have widespread support in the military and was unsuccessful. Voldemaras was imprisoned for the next four years, receiving amnesty on the condition he would leave the country. He chose France as his destination.[5]