Algirdas Brazauskas | |
|---|---|
 Brazauskas in 2005 | |
| 4th President of Lithuania | |
| In office 25 November 1992 – 25 February 1998 Acting: 25 November 1992 – 25 February 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Vytautas Landsbergis (as Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania) |
| Succeeded by | Valdas Adamkus |
| 12thPrime Minister of Lithuania | |
| In office 29 June 2001 – 1 June 2006 | |
| President | Valdas Adamkus Rolandas Paksas Valdas Adamkus |
| Preceded by | Eugenijus Gentvilas |
| Succeeded by | Zigmantas Balčytis |
| Speaker of theSeimas | |
| In office 25 November 1992 – 25 February 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Vytautas Landsbergis (as Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania) |
| Succeeded by | Česlovas Juršėnas |
| DeputyPrime Minister of Lithuania | |
| In office 17 March 1990 – 10 January 1991 | |
| Chairman of Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Lithuanian SSR | |
| In office 15 January 1990 – 11 March 1990 | |
| Preceded by | Vytautas Astrauskas |
| Succeeded by | Vytautas Landsbergis (as Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania) |
| First Secretary of Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania | |
| In office 20 October 1988 – 19 December 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Ringaudas Bronislovas Songaila |
| Succeeded by | Mykolas Burokevičius |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1932-09-22)22 September 1932 Rokiškis, Lithuania |
| Died | 26 June 2010(2010-06-26) (aged 77) Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Political party |
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| Spouse(s) | Julija Brazauskienė Kristina Brazauskienė |
| Children | 2 daughters(from first marriage) |
| Alma mater | Kaunas University of Technology (1956) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union |
| Branch/service | Soviet Navy |
| Years of service | 1956–1960 |
| Rank | Starshina 1st stage |
Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas (Lithuanian:[ˈɐ̂ˑlʲɡʲɪrdɐsˈmʲîːkoːɫɐsbrɐˈzɐ̂ˑʊskɐs]ⓘ,22 September 1932 –26 June 2010) was the fourthpresident of Lithuania, in office from 1993 to 1998. He also served asPrime Minister of Lithuania from 2001 to 2006. Brazauskas was the first democratically elected president ofpost-Soviet Lithuania.
He also served as head of theCommunist Party of Lithuania that broke with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Brazauskas was born in Rokiškis, Lithuania. Brazauskas traces his family back to the 18th century. In the village of Mikailiškiai (nowRadviliškis District Municipality). His father was Kazimieras Brazauskas (1906–1997) and mother was Sofija Brazauskienė (née Perezilevičiūtė; 1904–1979). He finishedKaišiadorys High School in 1952 and graduated fromKaunas Polytechnic Institute in 1956 with a degree incivil engineering. He later served as aConscript sailor in theSoviet Navy, serving as aFire controlman on board theRiga-class frigateRosomakha until 1960.[1] In 1967, Brazauskas started working in the Governmental Planning Committee, as a Committee's head's assistant. In 1974, Brazauskas received a PhD in economics.[citation needed]
He divorced his first wife, Julija, with whom he had two daughters; he married Kristina Butrimienė in 2002.[2]
Brazauskas held various positions in the government ofLithuanian SSR andCommunist Party of Lithuania from 1965 onwards:
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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 [that] the Communist Party has a dirty history."
In 1988, he became thefirst secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania. Under his leadership, the majority of the Communist Party of Lithuania supported the Lithuanianindependence movement, broke away from theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union and transformed itself into social-democraticDemocratic Labour Party of Lithuania (now merged into theLithuanian Social Democratic Party). Brazauskas was Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet(head of state) from 15 January until 11 March 1990.[citation needed]
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 local communist party organizations in the former Soviet Union dared to take this step. Some historians and journalists have later suggested that this act was the earliest certain indication of the inevitability of the demise of the Soviet Union.[2]
After the 1992 parliamentary elections, the first since 1938, he became speaker of parliamentary and acting President of Lithuania on 25 November 1992. He then won the presidential election in a single round 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.
Political scientist and diplomat Laimonas Tallat-Kelpša described Brazauskas's presidency as an "ambusher regime". Though he was elected with the backing of his political party, the Democratic Labour Party, he attempted to stay within the limitations of constitutional powers and avoid direct intervention in politics - except in moments of crisis, when he would "leave his ambush" and demand actions from the elected government.[3]
He proposed Democratic Labour Party politicianAdolfas Šleževičius as Prime Minister, who formed theŠleževičius Cabinet, but avoided interference in cabinet choices and allowed Šleževičius to form his cabinet.[4] By 1994, the president's relations with his party's cabinet had turned cold, and Brazauskas stated that he "could not agree [with him] on the simplest things".[5] In late 1995, Šleževičius entered a scandal regarding his actions during the collapse of the Lithuanian bankLietuvos akcinis inovacinis bankas - the prime minister withdrew his assets from the bank a day before it stopped its activities. After the Democratic Labour Party's central committee expressed their continued confidence in him, Brazauskas suddenly demanded his resignation, which prompted parts of the LDDP, alongside the opposition, to force him to resign after a vote of no confidence.[6]
Brazauskas supported Lithuania's accession toNATO and theEuropean Union, though he was initially sceptical towards theUnited States and membership in NATO, and describedHomeland Union proposals of demandingreparations fromRussia to be "the politics of a hunched hedgehog".[7] He supported pragmatic relations withRussia.[8] However, he played an important part in the early 1993 diplomatic crisis with Russia, in which Russia suspended negotiations on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Lithuania. After a personal phone call with Russian PresidentBoris Yeltsin, negotiations were renewed and the withdrawal was completed.[9]
In 1995, speaking before theKnesset, Brazauskas officially apologized for the Lithuanian people's actions during theHolocaust.[10]
In spite of high approval ratings, he decided not to seek reelection, and handed the presidency to his successor,Valdas Adamkus, on 25 February 1998.
Brazauskas said he planned to retire from politics and wanted to be "an ordinary pensioner." During the first two years in retirement he wrote 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."[11]
He subsequently returned to politics saying he "always had something to do in life."[11] He was Prime Minister from 3 July 2001, appointed by the parliament, until 1 June 2006, when his government resigned as PresidentValdas Adamkus expressed no confidence in two of the ministers, formerLabour Party colleagues of Brazauskas, over ethical principles.[12]
His government resigned on31 May 2006 after the Labour Party left the governing coalition.[13] 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."[11]
He led the ruling Social Democratic Party of Lithuania for one more year, until19 May 2007, when he passed the reins toGediminas Kirkilas.[2] He served as the honorary chairman of the party, and remained an influential voice in party politics.[12]
Algirdas Brazauskas was honored with the various decorations, among others theOrder of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain, Grand Cross Order of Vytautas the Great.[14] Days before his deathRussian PresidentDmitry Medvedev awarded Brazauskas with theOrder of Honour for his significant contribution to cooperation between Russia and Lithuania and good neighborly relations.[15] Brazauskas was also an honorary member of theInternational Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
Brazauskas was diagnosed withlymphatic cancer in December 2008.[16] He died on 26 June 2010 from cancer, aged 77.[17][18] At the time of his death, he was still considered an influential figure in Lithuanian politics.[2]
Following his death theobituaries wrote of him that he had a "frame to match his indefatigable stature and a calm but commanding presence that could fill any stage."[19] His successor as president,Valdas Adamkus, said that he "dared to decide which side to choose in a critical moment."
Lithuanian PresidentDalia 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."[18]
Quotations related toAlgirdas Brazauskas at Wikiquote| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Vytautas Landsbergis (as Chairman of the Supreme Council) | Speaker of theSeimas and Acting President 1992–1993 | Succeeded by Česlovas Juršėnas (as Speaker) Himself (as President) |
| Preceded by Himself as Speaker of the Seimas and Acting President | President of Lithuania 1992-1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Lithuania 2001–2006 | Succeeded by |
