Šarūnas Birutis (born September 20, 1961 in Šiauliai) is a

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 ...

n politician. He was a

member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

for the Labour Party from 2004 to 2009. In the parliament he joined the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Euro ...

. He received bachelor's degree in economics from Vilnius University in 1984 and master's degree in law from

Mykolas Romeris University Mykolas Romeris University ( lt, Mykolo Romerio universitetas) is an international university located with campuses in Vilnius and Kaunas, Lithuania. MRU cooperates closely with over 350 universities, public and private institutions, takes part ...

in 2003. After Lithuania's independence in 1990, Birutis worked establishing and developing tourist industry. In 1999 he joined the Ministry of the Economy as adviser for small and middle businesses. He was a member of the team, negotiating Lithuania's membership in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. In 2004, he was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, where he joined the

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its areas of responsibility relate to industry, especially technology-intensive manufacturing, information technology, and telecommunications. It also ...

and Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection. Birutis ran again in 2009, but Labour Party gained only one seat which went to

Viktor Uspaskich Viktor Uspaskich (russian: Виктор Викторович Успасских, lt, Viktoras Uspaskichas; born 24 July 1959) is a Russian-born Lithuanian entrepreneur and politician. Early life He was born in the village of Urdoma, Arkhangel ...

, leader and founder of the party.

References

1961 births Living people Labour Party (Lithuania) MEPs MEPs for Lithuania 2004–2009 Vilnius University alumni Mykolas Romeris University alumni People from Šiauliai Ministers of Culture of Lithuania Politicians from Vilnius Members of the Seimas {{Lithuania-MEP-stub