Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas (, 1932 – 2010) was the first
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
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Automobiles
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(fourth overall) of a newly re-independent
post-Soviet Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), 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. Lithuania ...
from 1993 to 1998 and
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
from 2001 to 2006.
He also served as head of the
Communist Party of Lithuania that broke with Moscow.
Biography
Brazauskas was born in Rokiškis, Lithuania. He finished
Kaišiadorys High School in 1952 and graduated from
Kaunas Polytechnic Institute
Kaunas University of Technology (abbreviated as KTU, ) is a public research university located in Kaunas, Lithuania. Established in 1922, KTU has been one of the top centers of Lithuanian science education. According to Lithuanian National ...
in 1956 with a degree in
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
. He later served as a
Conscript sailor in the
Soviet Navy, serving as a
Fire controlman on board the
Riga-class frigate ''Rosomacha'' until 1960. In 1967 Brazauskas started working in the Governmental Planning Committee, as a Committee's head's assistant. In 1974, Brazauskas received PhD in economics.
Family
He divorced his first wife, Julia, with whom he had two daughters; he married Kristina Butrimienė in 2002.
Political career
He took various positions in the government of
Lithuanian SSR and
Communist Party of Lithuania since 1965:
* 1965–1967, the minister of construction materials industry of Lithuanian SSR
* 1967–1977, deputy chairman of State Planning Committee of Lithuanian SSR.
* 1977–1987, secretary of Central Committee of
Communist Party of Lithuania.
In the 1980s, he transformed himself from a Communist Party apparatchik to a moderate reformer. He was seen as cautious by nature, and when confronted by the tide of nationalist feeling in the Soviet Union, Brazauskas initially believed that the USSR might be reconstituted as a looser federation of independent, but communist, states. In seeing the tide of an independent democracy, he joined the reformist cause observing in 1990 that "We are realists now, and we cannot be propagating any utopian ideas. It's no secret
hatthe Communist Party has a dirty history."
In 1988, he became the
first secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania. Under his leadership, the majority of the Communist Party of Lithuania supported the Lithuanian
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...
movement, broke away from the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
" Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspape ...
and transformed itself into social-democratic
Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania (now merged into the
Lithuanian Social Democratic Party
The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija, LSDP) is a centre-left and social democratic political party in Lithuania. Founded as an underground Marxist organization in 1896, it is the oldest extant part ...
). Brazauskas was Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
(head of state) from 15 January until 11 March 1990.
Though he sought to avoid a breach with Moscow in 1989, as leader of Lithuania's Communist Party, he formally severed the party's links with Moscow. This was rare in that no other former Soviet republics dared to take this step. Some believe that this act confirmed the inevitability of the demise of the Soviet Union.
After the 1992 parliamentary elections, he became speaker of the parliament and acting President of Lithuania on 25 November 1992. He then won the presidential election with 60 percent of the vote and was confirmed as president on 25 February 1993. He immediately suspended his membership in the Democratic Labour Party; the Constitution does not allow the president to be a formal member of a political party during his tenure. He decided not to seek reelection, and handed the presidency to his successor,
Valdas Adamkus, on 25 February 1998.
Retirement
Brazauskas said he planned to retire from politics and wanted to be "an ordinary pensioner."
During the initial two years in retirement he wrote on a book, though it was incomplete. He said he would continue writing it after his second stint in government. He also said he would finish "household work" and that he likes physical work. He added that "I have no estates, but the property I own needs to be put in good order." He wanted to live "in a way that other people live."
Return to politics
He subsequently returned to politics saying he "always had something to do in life."
This time he was Prime Minister from 3 July 2001, appointed by the parliament, until 1 June 2006, when his government resigned as President
Valdas Adamkus expressed no confidence in two of the Ministers, formerly Labour Party colleagues of Brazauskas, over ethical principles.
His government resigned on 2006 after the large
Labour Party left the governing coalition. Brazauskas decided not to remain in office as acting Prime Minister, and announced that he was finally retiring from politics. He said "I tried to be a pensioner for several years, and I think I was successful. I hope for success this time, as well."
He led the ruling Social Democratic Party of Lithuania for one more year, until 2007, when he passed the reins to
Gediminas Kirkilas.
He served as the honorary chairman of the party, and remained an influential voice in party politics.
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]
Honours
Algirdas Brazauskas was honored with the various decorations, among others the Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain, Grand Cross Order of Vytautas the Great. Days before his death Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
awarded Brazauskas with the Order of Honour for his significant contribution to cooperation between Russia and Lithuania and good neighborly relations. Brazauskas was also an honorary member of th
International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
Illness and death
Brazauskas was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in December 2008. He died on 26 June 2010 from cancer, aged 78. At the time of his death, he was still considered an influential figure in Lithuanian politics.
Following his death the obituaries wrote of him that he had a "frame to match his indefatigable stature and a calm but commanding presence that could fill any stage." His successor as president, Valdas Adamkus, said that he "dared to decide which side to choose in a critical moment."
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė said "The memory of the first directly elected president of Lithuania after it restored its independence, of a strong and charismatic personality, will remain for a long time in the hearts of the Lithuanian people."
References
External links
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ALGIRDAS MYKOLAS BRAZAUSKAS - Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Akto signataras
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazauskas, Algirdas
1932 births
2010 deaths
20th-century Lithuanian politicians
21st-century Lithuanian politicians
People from Rokiškis
Heads of state of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
People's commissars and ministers of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
Presidents of Lithuania
Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania politicians
First Secretaries of the Communist Party of Lithuania
Kaunas University of Technology alumni
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
Prime Ministers of Lithuania
Social Democratic Party of Lithuania politicians
Lithuanian communists
Collars of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin
Commanders of the Order of Honour (Greece)
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry
Grand Crosses of the Order of Vytautas the Great
Grand Crosses with Golden Chain of the Order of Vytautas the Great
Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
Recipients of the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia)
Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class
Speakers of the Seimas
People of the Singing Revolution
Deaths from cancer in Lithuania
Deaths from lymphoma
Deaths from prostate cancer
Burials at Antakalnis Cemetery
Signatories of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania