Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Lithuania)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos užsienio reikalų ministerija) is a governmental body of the Republic of Lithuania that shapes the national policy, and organises, coordinates, and controls its enforcement in the following areas: foreign affairs and security policy: international relations, economic security, foreign trade, protection of the rights and interests of the Republic of Lithuania and its persons and entities abroad; coordination of European Union membership; representing the Republic of Lithuania abroad diplomatic and consular relations, diplomatic service, Lithuanian national and diplomatic protocol, international relations; the policy of cooperation of the Republic of Lithuania; strengthening of expat connections with Lithuania.[4]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry overview
Formed11 November 1918 (1918-11-11)[1]
JurisdictionGovernment of Lithuania
HeadquartersJ. Tumo-Vaižganto 2, Naujamiestis,
01511 Vilnius
Employees1,083 permanent employees
(January 2021)[2]
Annual budget€0.093 billion (2021)[3]
Minister responsible
Websiteurm.lt
Map
54°41′25.8″N 25°16′11″E

History
Seal of the interwar Republic ministry
Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Baltic States. Tallinn, December 1937. Center: Estonian Minister Friedrich Akel. On the left: Lithuanian Minister Juozas Urbšys. Right: Latvian Minister Vilhelms Munters.
Ministers of the Baltic States – Edgars Rinkēvičs, Marina Kaljurand, Linas Linkevičius – meet the US Secretary of State John Kerry in 2016.

The first cabinet of ministers of the Republic of Lithuania was appointed on 11 November 1918 and the foreign affairs minister position was initially assumed by the Prime Minister Augustinas Voldemaras.[1] Augustinas Voldemaras served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in subsequent cabinets under different prime ministers until 18 January 2022, when he was replaced by Juozas Purickis.

Activities

The head of the Ministry is the foreign minister. The current head of the Ministry is Gabrielius Landsbergis. He is appointed and revoked by the President of the Republic of Lithuania by motion from the Prime Minister.[5] The foreign minister is subordinate to the Parliament, the President, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania. The foreign minister supervises the Ministry, deals with matters that lay within its sphere of competence, signs international agreements, ensures the enforcement of regulations the Ministry is tasked to oversee, files bills, ensures the execution of orders from the Government and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, approves Strategic Planning Methodology, issues annual reports, coordinates and controls the work of administrational departments of the Ministry, as well as the activities of diplomatic missions, consular establishments and offices of the Republic of Lithuania to international organizations, file motions to the President of the Republic of Lithuania to award the diplomatic ranks of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania, envoy extraordinary of the Republic of Lithuania, and minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania, and to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, to appoint or recall diplomatic representatives (ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary), defines the areas of activity for vice-ministers, and areas of cooperation for the Ministry chancellor.[6]

In his work, the minister is advised by officers of political trust – vice-ministers. The Ministry may not have more than four of them. They organise and control execution of orders, the drafting and approval of draft regulations, and represent the minister by assignment, presenting the minister's political attitudes and decisions to the public.

The analysis, planning, formation, coordination, and enforcement of Lithuania's foreign policy is done by the political director of the Foreign Ministry. The director's functions include high-level representation of Lithuania abroad. The political director is involved in the activities of the Ministry's management, cooperates with the Ministry's administrative departments, domestic and foreign institutions, bodies, and individual partners. The director also supervises the formation, enforcement, and development of the security policy and cooperation with foreign countries, regions, and international organizations, the strengthening of the Eastern neighborhood policy, human rights and democracy, European policy, trans-Atlantic and developmental cooperation, and support of democracy.

The head of the Ministry's administration is the chancellor. The chancellor coordinates and controls the activities of the Ministry's administrative departments, ensures that financial and intellectual resources, assets and information are used optimally to achieve the Ministry's strategic operating goals and objectives.

The foreign minister has an advisory institution, the so-called board.[7]

Ministers

  Democratic Labour Party   Homeland Union   New Union   Social Democratic Party   Independent

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Term Minister Party Cabinet Office
Start date End date Time in office
1 Algirdas Saudargas
(born 1948)		 Homeland Union Prunskienė 17 January 1990 10 January 1991 358 days
2 Algirdas Saudargas
(born 1948)		 Homeland Union Šimėnas 10 January 1991 13 January 1991 3 days
3 Algirdas Saudargas
(born 1948)		 Homeland Union Vagnorius 13 January 1991 21 July 1992 1 year, 190 days
4 Algirdas Saudargas
(born 1948)		 Homeland Union Abišala 21 July 1992 17 December 1992 149 days
5 Povilas Gylys
(born 1948)		 Democratic Labour Party Lubys 17 December 1992 31 March 1993 104 days
6 Povilas Gylys
(born 1948)		 Democratic Labour Party Šleževičius 31 March 1993 19 March 1996 2 years, 354 days
7 Povilas Gylys
(born 1948)		 Democratic Labour Party Stankevičius 19 March 1996 10 December 1996 266 days
8 Algirdas Saudargas
(born 1948)		 Homeland Union Vagnorius 10 December 1996 10 June 1999 2 years, 182 days
9 Algirdas Saudargas
(born 1948)		 Homeland Union Paksas 10 June 1999 11 November 1999 154 days
10 Algirdas Saudargas
(born 1948)		 Homeland Union Kubilius 11 November 1999 9 November 2000 365 days
11 Antanas Valionis
(born 1950)		 New Union Paksas 9 November 2000 12 July 2001 245 days
12 Antanas Valionis
(born 1950)		 New Union Brazauskas 12 July 2001 14 December 2004 3 years, 155 days
13 Antanas Valionis
(born 1950)		 New Union Brazauskas 14 December 2004 18 July 2006 1 year, 216 days
14 Petras Vaitiekūnas
(born 1953)		 Independent Kirkilas 18 July 2006 9 December 2008 2 years, 144 days
15 Vygaudas Ušackas
(born 1962)		 Independent Kubilius 9 December 2008 26 January 2010 1 year, 48 days
16 Audronius Ažubalis
(born 1958)		 Homeland Union 29 January 2010 13 December 2012 2 years, 319 days
17 Linas Antanas Linkevičius
(born 1961)		 Social Democratic Party Butkevičius 13 December 2012 13 December 2016 4 years, 0 days
18 Linas Antanas Linkevičius
(born 1961)		 Social Democratic Party Skvernelis 13 December 2016 11 December 2020 3 years, 364 days
Independent
19 Gabrielius Landsbergis
(born 1982)		 Homeland Union Šimonytė 11 December 2020 Incumbent 2 years, 318 days

References
  1. "Kaip gimė pirmoji Lietuvos Vyriausybė" [How the first Government of Lithuania was born]. Kauno Diena (in Lithuanian). 11 November 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. Lietuvos Respublikos užsienio reikalų ministerija employees (insured) on January 2nd, 2021
  3. Lithuanian budget for 2021
  4. "1155 Dėl Lietuvos Respublikos užsienio reikalų ministerijos nuostatų patvirtinimo". www.e-tar.lt. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  5. Lithuania's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 2006 (PDF). constituteproject.org. 2017.
  6. "LR Vyriausybės nutarimas dėl Lietuvos Respublikos Užsienio reikalų ministerijos nuostatų patvirtinimo".
  7. "Lietuvos Respublikos užsienio reikalų ministerijos schematinė struktūra" (PDF).

Sources
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