Gediminas Kirkilas

Gediminas Kirkilas ( born August 30, 1951 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian politician, Deputy Chairman of the Seimas, member of the Social Democrats and former Prime Minister of Lithuania.

Training

After finishing high school in Vilnius (1969 ) and the Army service ( 1969-1972 ) he worked from 1972 to 1978 as a restorer. Subsequently, he studied until 1982 political science at the University of the Communist Party in Vilnius. In 2004, Gediminas Kirkilas an MBA MSc course at the International Business School at Vilnius University from.

Kirkilas speaks Lithuanian, English and Russian.

Family

Kirkilas comes from an academic family, he has six siblings. With his wife Liudmila he has two adult children.

Political career

Gediminas Kirkilas worked for various Committee of the Communist Party of LSSR. From 1989 he worked at the side of the First Secretary of the Central Committee, Algirdas Brazauskas, one of the " fathers" of independence and later President and Prime Minister of the country. He remained faithful Brazauskas after independence of Lithuania as a personal assistant.

In the Democratic Labor Party of Lithuania ( LDDP ) renamed the Communist Party of Lithuania, he became the first Vice-Chairman ( 1991-1996 ), then he was member of the board (1996-2001). After the merger of LDDP with the LSDP he was elected one of the vice chairmen of the LSDP.

Since 1992 Kirkilas sitting for the Social Democrats in the Seimas, the Lithuanian parliament since November 2012 Deputy Chairman of the Seimas. He specialized in the Europe, security and foreign policy. As chairman of the National Sicherheitsauschusses ( 1992-96 ), he designed the national security strategy extensively. After the 2000 parliamentary elections, he became chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. After the 2004 elections took place on 14 December 2004 he was appointed Minister of Defense.

After withdrawal Brazauskas ' by the Office of the party chairman was elected Kirkilas ( on the recommendation of Brazauskas ) on 19 May 2007 of 28 Party Congress in a vote by a clear majority of the new party chairman. The only opposition candidate was Juozas Olekas.

Prime Minister of Lithuania

P Cabinet Kirkilas

Kirkilas was nominated on 29 June 2006 to succeed the resigned on 31 May 2006 Prime Minister Brazauskas, after the acting Prime Minister, his party colleague Zigmantas Balčytis, no majority in the Seimas had received. In the meantime, after the vote defeat the Social Democrats had been able to secure a majority vote for the products they led minority government of LSDP, Peasant Party, Liberals and the newly formed citizen democracy. In July 2006 he was elected with 85 votes to 13 with five abstentions, the new prime minister of the country. It also agreed to the members of the Labor Party and the New Union for Kirkilas. The deputies of the conservative Homeland covenant remained voting majority away, but tolerated the government until the next scheduled elections in October 2008. Kirkilas was chairman of the 14th government since the independence of the Baltic States in 1991. In the time of his reign, the attenuation fell to then booming economy from the beginning of 2008. despite increased government spending ( 16 % growth for 2008 compared to 2007) the population could not be convinced of the government's work in the elections in October 2008. November 28, 2008 Andrius Kubilius ( Fatherland Association) was elected by Parliament as the successor of Gediminas Kirkilas.