The Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania () is a

government department Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level Executive (government), executive bodies in the Machinery of government, machinery of governments that manage a specific se ...

of the Republic of

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 ...

. Its operations are authorized by the

Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, decrees issued by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, and laws passed by the

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...

(Parliament). Its mission is to prosecute state social security and labour branch ruling functions and realize state policy in these branches. The current head of the Ministry is

Inga Ruginienė Inga Ruginienė (born 24 May 1981) is a Lithuanian trade unionist and politician of the Social Democratic Party. She has served as chairwoman of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation since 2018, and as vice president of the European Trade Un ...

History

On 11 November 1918, the Republic of Lithuania established a short-lived Ministry of Public Works and Food Supply (). Its purpose was to address the dire social situation following the devastation of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It had three departments: social security, food supply and labour. However, on 29 October 1919 the ministry was merged into the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

and its original departments were reorganized several times during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

. The ministry and its departments were early institutions concerning the

social welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

and are considered to be the predecessors of the present day Ministry of Social Security and Labour.

Function

The Ministry plays a critical role in addressing social inequalities and supporting vulnerable groups in Lithuania. The Minister is responsible for overseeing and developing

policies Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

related to

social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

, labor, and welfare. The Minister ensures the effective

implementation Implementation is the realization of an application, execution of a plan, idea, scientific modelling, model, design, specification, Standardization, standard, algorithm, policy, or the Management, administration or management of a process or Goal ...

of programs aimed at providing social protection, including

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

s, unemployment benefits, and support for vulnerable groups. They regulate the labor market to ensure fair working conditions, safe workplaces, and equitable employment opportunities. The Minister also represents

in international forums concerning labor and social security matters, collaborating with EU institutions and international organizations. Additionally, the Minister advises the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

and the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

on social and labor-related issues, contributing to the development of national policies.

Ministers

The Minister of Social Security and Labour () is a member of the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

of the

Government of Lithuania The Government of Lithuania, officially the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (GRL), is the Cabinet (government), cabinet of and exercising executive power in Lithuania. Among other responsibilities, it executes laws and resolutions of the ...

. The minister is responsible for shaping and overseeing the country's social security, labor market, and welfare policies. The Minister leads the Ministry in developing and implementing programs aimed at improving social protection, ensuring fair labor conditions, and enhancing employment opportunities. The current incumbent is Inga Runginienė who took office on 12 December 2024.

References

{{authority control Social Security and Labour

Labor in Lithuania