The Lithuanian Nationalist Union ( or LTS), also known as the Nationalists (), was the ruling political party in

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 ...

during the authoritarian regime of President

Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual, journalist and politician. He served as the first president of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and later as the authoritarian head of state from 1926 until the Occu ...

from 1926 to 1940. The party was established in 1924 but was not popular. It came to power as a result of the December 1926 military coup. From 1927 to 1939, the Council of Ministers included only members of the LTS. In 1936, other parties were officially disbanded, leaving LTS the only legal party in the country. At the end of the 1930s new members started bringing in new ideas, right wing and closer to

Italian Fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

. The party was disestablished after the

Soviet occupation of Lithuania The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic st ...

in June 1940. A party of the same name (known as the

Lithuanian Nationalist and Republican Union The Lithuanian Nationalist and Republican Union ( or LTS), also known as the Nationalists (), was a right-wing nationalist political party in Lithuania. It claimed to be the continuation of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union, the ruling party in 19 ...

since 2017) was reestablished in 1990 and claims to be the successor of the interwar LTS.

History

The party was established during a conference in

Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...

on 17–19 August 1924 as a merger of the

Party of National Progress The Party of National Progress () or TPP was a political party in Lithuania. It was established in 1916. The party was named by the prominent Lithuanian activist and writer Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, who regarded progress as the main aspect of futur ...

(established in 1916) and the

Lithuanian Farmers' Association Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

(established in 1919). The party did not enjoy popular support and in the May 1926 parliamentary elections won only three seats of 85. However, its leaders

and

Augustinas Voldemaras Augustinas Voldemaras (16 April 1883 – 16 May 1942) was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He briefly served as the country's first prime minister in 1918 and continued serving as the minister of foreign affairs until 1920, representing ...

were popular and influential public figures. The party was conservative and nationalistic, and stressed the need for a strong army and a strong leader. During the December 1926 coup, the military deposed the democratically elected government and invited Smetona to become the new

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 Voldemaras the new

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 ...

. The Nationalists and the

Lithuanian Christian Democrats The Lithuanian Christian Democrats (, LKD) was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania, which currently exists as a faction in TS-LKD. The party was a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the European Christian Politica ...

formed a new government. However, the relationship between the two parties soon became tense. Christian Democrats regarded the coup as a temporary measure and wanted to hold new elections to 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 ...

. In April 1927, Smetona dissolved the Seimas and Christian Democrats resigned from the government in May. New elections to Seimas were not called until 1936. The Nationalists remained the only party in the government until a political crisis after the German ultimatum regarding

Klaipėda Region The Klaipėda Region () or Memel Territory ( or ''Memelgebiet'') was defined by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia, when, as Memelland, it was put under the administr ...

forced LTS to admit two members of the opposition to the Council of Ministers. Voldemaras established Iron Wolf (''Geležinis Vilkas'') as a paramilitary wing of the Nationalists. In September 1929, Smetona removed Voldemaras and installed his co-brother-in-law

Juozas Tūbelis Juozas Tūbelis (9 April 1882 – 30 September 1939) was a Lithuanian politician, Prime Minister, and member and chairman of the Lithuanian Nationalists Union. In 1908, he graduated from Polytechnical Institute in Riga receiving a diploma in agron ...

as prime minister. The new constitutions of 1928 and 1938 established a presidential dictatorship. Political opponents were suppressed. Ahead of the June 1936 election, other political parties were banned, leaving LTS the only legal party in Lithuania. In the 1930s, the party became increasingly radical and sympathetic to

but opposed

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

.‘Nazis Escape Death Sentence in Lithuania: President Smetona Changes Sentence to Ward Off Trouble with Germans’; Reading Eagle, 18 May 1935, p. 1. Major periodicals published by the party included ''Lietuvis'' (1924–28), ''

Lietuvos aidas ''Lietuvos aidas'' (literally: ''Echo of Lithuania'') is a daily newspaper in Lithuania. It was established on September 6, 1917, by Antanas Smetona, and became the semi-official voice of the newly formed Lithuanian government. When the government ...

'' (1928–40), ''Mūsų kraštas'' (1930–33), and ''

Vairas ''Vairas'' (literally: ''steering wheel''; also translated as ''helm'' or ''rudder'') was a Lithuanian-language political and cultural newspaper published by Antanas Smetona and the Lithuanian Nationalist Union, the ruling party in Lithuania in 192 ...

'' (1914–40).

Chairmen

The party's chairmen were: *

Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius Vincas Mickevičius (pl. ''Wincenty Mickiewicz'', October 19, 1882 – July 17, 1954), better known by his pen name Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, was a Lithuanian writer, poet, novelist, playwright and philologist. He is also known as Vincas Krėv� ...

(19 August 1924 – 29 June 1925) *

(29 June 1925 – 26 December 1926) *

Liudas Noreika Liudas Noreika (19 August 1884 – 30 May 1928) was a Lithuanian attorney, activist, and politician. He served as the Minister of Justice under three prime ministers in March 1919 – June 1920. Noreika studied to become a Catholic priest, but la ...

(26 December 1926 – 4 August 1927) * Vincas Matulaitis (4 August 1927 – 1 October 1927) *

Aleksandras Žilinskas Aleksandras is a Lithuanian male given name derived from Alexander. People with this name include: *Alexander Jagiellon (1461–1506), Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland *Aleksandras Abišala (born 1955), former Prime Minister of Lithuania ...

(5 October 1927 – 1 February 1928) *

(1 February 1928 – 30 May 1928) *

Vytautas Vileišis Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

(30 May 1928 – 2 October 1929) *

Jonas Lapėnas Jonas Lapėnas (5 August 1891 – 27 June 1937) was a Lithuanian businessman and activist of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union. He was director of the meat processing and export company Maistas and chairman of the cooperative union Lietūkis. He w ...

(2 October 1929 – 1 June 1931) *

(1 June 1931 – 5 January 1939) *

Vladas Mironas Vladas Mironas (; 22 June 1880 – 18 February 1953) was a Lithuanian Catholic priest and politician. He was one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania and served as the Prime Minister of Lithuania from March 1938 to M ...

(5 January 1939 – 2 December 1939) * Domas Cesevičius (2 December 1939 – 19 June 1940)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Conservative parties in Lithuania Nationalist parties in Lithuania National conservative parties Political parties established in 1924 Political parties disestablished in 1940 1924 establishments in Lithuania 1940 disestablishments in Lithuania Parties of one-party systems Anti-communist parties Proto-fascism