Ministry of Culture (Lithuania)

The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos kultūros ministerija) is a governmental body of the Republic of Lithuania. Its mission is to formulate and implement state cultural policies supporting professional and amateur art, theatre, music, fine arts, cinema, museums, libraries, and written publications, to guard copyright and copyright-related interests, and to protect cultural values.

Ministry of Culture
Kultūros ministerija
(in Lithuanian)
Ministry overview
Formed8 June 1994 (1994-06-08)
JurisdictionGovernment of Lithuania
HeadquartersJ. Basanavičiaus 5, Naujamiestis,
01118 Vilnius
Employees114 permanent employees
(January 2021)[1]
Annual budget€0.234 billion (2021)[2]
Minister responsible
Websitelrkm.lrv.lt
Map
54°40′48.6″N 25°16′35.5″E

History

The Ministry of Culture was formally established on 8 June 1994, following the government decision in 1993 to split it off from the Ministry of Culture and Education.[3] Its first minister was Dainius Trinkūnas.

Activities

The ministry awards prizes including Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts for achievements in the arts and culture, the Martynas Mažvydas Award for scholarly research, National Jonas Basanavičius Award for outstanding achievements related to ethnicity, also awards to young creators, librarians, translators, etc.

The Top Prize of Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania is the honorary badge “Nešk Savo Šviesą Ir Tikėk”. It is an acknowledgment of many years of work in the field of culture and arts, of creativity and its promotion.

Prizes of the Ministry of Culture for the most significant international awards in the field of culture were launched in 2019. Among the first laureates are the group of opera Sun & Sea (Marina) creators Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė, and Lina Lapelytė together with curators Rasa Antanavičiūtė and Lucia Pietrouisti, as well as the group of the documentary Bridges of Time creators and operatic soprano Asmik Grigorian.

Functions

The Ministry of Culture performs the following functions within the framework of Lithuanian legislation:

  • Drafting legislation pertaining to cultural activities;
  • Drafting concepts and programs supporting the development of various forms of art, and coordinating their implementation;
  • Allocating funds to museums, libraries, and organizations that support visual, musical, and performance arts
  • Coordinating activities on behalf of copyright and related rights;
  • Coordinating state public information policy;
  • Assuring the accounting of, and protection of, cultural values;
  • Development and implementing international cultural programs, and drafting international agreements pertaining to these programs;
  • Initiating regional cultural development strategies.

Ministers

  Christian Democratic Party   Democratic Labour Party   Labour Party   Liberal and Centre Union   Liberal Movement   Liberal Union   National Resurrection Party   Social Democratic Party   Independent

Part of Ministry of Education and Culture from 17 January 1990 to 31 March 1993
Ministry of Culture
Term Minister Party Cabinet Office
Start date End date Time in office
1 Dainius Trinkūnas
(1931-1996)		 Democratic Labour Party Šleževičius 31 March 1993 15 November 1994 1 year, 229 days
2 Juozas Nekrošius
(1935-2020)		 Democratic Labour Party 15 November 1994 19 March 1996 1 year, 125 days
3 Juozas Nekrošius
(1935-2020)		 Democratic Labour Party Stankevičius 19 March 1996 10 December 1996 266 days
4 Saulius Šaltenis
(born 1945)		 Christian Democratic Party Vagnorius 10 December 1996 10 June 1999 2 years, 182 days
5 Arūnas Bėkšta
(born 1955)		 Independent Paksas 10 June 1999 11 November 1999 154 days
6 Arūnas Bėkšta
(born 1955)		 Independent Kubilius 11 November 1999 9 November 2000 364 days
7 Gintautas Kėvišas
(born 1954)		 Liberal Union Paksas 9 November 2000 12 July 2001 245 days
8 Roma Dovydėnienė
(born 1956)		 Social Democratic Party Brazauskas 12 July 2001 14 December 2004 3 years, 155 days
9 Vladimiras Prudnikovas
(born 1949)		 Labour Party Brazauskas 14 December 2004 18 July 2006 1 year, 216 days
10 Jonas Jučas
(born 1952)		 Liberal and Centre Union Kirkilas 18 July 2006 9 December 2008 2 years, 144 days
11 Remigijus Vilkaitis
(born 1950)		 National Resurrection Party Kubilius 9 December 2008 1 July 2010 1 year, 204 days
12 Arūnas Gelūnas
(born 1968)		 Independent 1 July 2010 13 December 2012 2 years, 165 days
13 Šarūnas Birutis
(born 1961)		 Labour Party Butkevičius 13 December 2012 13 December 2016 4 years, 0 days
14 Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson
(born 1966)		 Independent Skvernelis 13 December 2016 21 December 2018 2 years, 8 days
15 Mindaugas Kvietkauskas
(born 1976)		 Independent 21 December 2018 11 December 2020 1 year, 356 days
16 Simonas Kairys
(born 1984)		 Liberal Movement Šimonytė 11 December 2020 Incumbent 2 years, 318 days

References
  1. Lietuvos Respublikos Kultūros ministerija employees (insured) on January 5th, 2021
  2. Lithuanian budget for 2021
  3. "Dėl Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės įstatymo įgyvendinimo". Parliament of Lithuania. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
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