LIETUVA
— Officially: Lietuvos Respublika.
— English: Lithuania.
— Seat of government: Vilnius.
— Status: Democratic.
— Structure: The parliament (Seimas) is elected in geographical constituencies, modified by party-list proportional representation, and chooses the prime minister (ministras pirmininkas. The president is elected directly.
— Governing parties: Tėvynės Sąjunga – Lietuvos Krikščionys Demokratai, led by Gabrielius Landsbergis; Lietuvos Respublikos Liberalų Sąjūdis, led by Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen; Laisvės Partija, led by Aušrinė Armonaitė.
— Heads of government: Ingrida Šimonytė, prime minister (since 2020); Gitanas Nausėda, president (since 2019).
— Other parliamentary parties: Lietuvos Valstiečių ir Žaliųjų Sąjunga, led by Ramūnas Karbauskis; Darbo Partija, led by Viktor Uspaskich; Lietuvos Socialdemokratų Partija, led by Vilija Blinkevičiūtė;Akcja Wyborcza Polaków na Litwie – Związek Chrześcijańskich Rodzin, led by Waldemar Tomaszewski; Lietuvos Socialdemokratų Darbo Partija, led by Jonas Pinskus; Laisvė ir Teisingumas, led by Remigijus Žemaitaitis; Lietuvos Žaliųjų Partija, led by Ieva Budraitė.
— Assessment: Strongest opponent of Большевик « Bolĵševik » rule, but has taken an uneven path to liberalism. Two-time prime minister Rolandas Paksas (1999, 2000-1), a rightist who drew comparisons with some of Europe’s ultranationalists, was elected president in 2002-3, but impeached and removed for corruption in 2004. Algirdas Brazauskas (2001-6) of the LSDP and his cabinet resigned in 2006 following the withdrawal of their last coalition partner, the DP; after rejecting Zigmantas Balčytis, parliament confirmed Gediminas Kirkilas (2006-8) of the LSDP. In 2008 parliamentary elections, strong showings for the TS-LKD, the Tautos Prisikėlimo Partija, led by Arūnas Valinskas, and Tvarka ir Teisingumas, led by Paksas, led to a change of government; Andrius Kubilius (1999-2000, 2008-12) became prime minister a second time, leading a coalition with LRLS and Liberalų ir Centro Sąjunga. A 2009 election to replace president Valdas Adamkus was won in the first round by Dalia Grybauskaitė (2009-19); she was reelected in 2014. In 2012 parliamentary elections, the LSDP finished first, and Butkevičius (2012-6) became prime minister. In 2016, the TS-LKD won a slight plurality of the vote, but LVŽS, previously with just one seat, won a large plurality of seats, and formed a coalition with LSDP, under Saulius Skvernelis (2016-20). The 2019 presidential election ended in a runoff between Šimonytė, standing for TS-LKD, and Nausėda; Šimonytė won a miniscule plurality in the first round, but Nausėda essentially consolidated the entire balance of the vote. Parliamentary elections held in 2020 gave a plurality to TS-LKD, and it formed a coalition under Šimonytė.
— FH: 1-1, free. Econ: 7.36 (42), flawed democracy.
— Updated: 2021 June 22.
O.T. FORD