Major general Jonas Andriškevičius (born 29 July 1944 in Debeikiai,

Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see #Name, other names) is a ski resort city in Lithuania, west of Utena, Lithuania, Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščia ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

) was a Lithuanian military figure and ex-Soviet military officer. He was the first

Chief of Defence A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national ...

. He served in this position from 20 October 1993 to 1 July 1999.

Biography

Andriškevičius was born in 1944 in Debeikiai. He graduated from Jonas Biliūnas Middle School in Anykščiai. In 1966, he graduated from the Sergei Kirov Military Medical School in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and joined the Soviet Artillery, working in a unit fielding the D-20 howitzer. In 1976, he graduated from the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. From 1967-1973, Andriškevičius served in the Group of Soviet Forces in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. From 1979-1980, he was Chief of the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

Operational Board. From 1981-1984, he served as Chief of Staff to the Chief Military Adviser of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. Throughout the rest of the 80s, he was director of the Military Department at Vilnius University. After the restoration of independence, he served in the Civil Protection and Rescue Service of the Vilnius University Affairs Board. In 1997, he graduated from the one-year course at the

NATO Defense College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, t ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. From 1992-1993, he was head of the Specialized Training Center of what is now the

General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania The General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania (''Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija'') is a state-sponsored institution of higher learning based in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was founded in 1994 by the Lithuanian Seimas, and ...

. In the fall of 1993, he became

. He served under Presidents

Algirdas Brazauskas Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas (, 1932 – 2010) was a Lithuanian politician who served as the fourth president of Lithuania from 1993 to 1998. He also served as the prime minister of Lithuania from 2001 to 2006. Brazauskas was the first democr ...

and

Valdas Adamkus Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; November 3, 1926) is a Lithuanian politician, diplomat and civil engineer who served as the fifth and seventh president of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009. Adamku ...

. He retired in 1999. Since 2004, Andriškevičius has been the Chairman of the Lithuanian Alumni Association of the NATO Defense College.

Awards

Order of the Cross of Vytis The Order of the Cross of Vytis () is a Lithuanian presidential award conferred for heroic defence of Lithuania's freedom and independence. November 23 is a holiday in honour of the Order of the Cross of Vytis. History Interwar period Reje ...

(21 April 1995) *

Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...

(1 July 1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andriskevicius, Jonas Lithuanian generals 1944 births Living people People from Anykščiai District Municipality Frunze Military Academy alumni NATO Defense College alumni