Albertas Šimėnas

Albertas Šimėnas (born February 17, 1950 in Anykščiai ) is a Lithuanian politician of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party ( Lietuvos Krikščionių Demokratų Partija ) and former Prime Minister .

Life

Studies and professional career

After attending school, he began studying economics at Vilnius University in 1967, graduating in 1972. At the same time he completed an additional degree in business mathematics . Subsequently he became an employee at the Institute for Economic Planning of the Lithuanian SSR . In 1984 he was appointed lecturer at the Institute of Civil Engineering at the Gediminas Technical University in Vilnius , where he worked until 1989.

Šimėnas has been a member of the board of directors and deputy general director of the Lithuanian Railway Company (AB "Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai") since 2000 and as such is particularly responsible for the company's expansion .

Prime Minister and Vilnius Blood Sunday

After Lithuania gained independence on March 11, 1990, he was elected for the first time as a member of parliament ( Seimas ), to which he was a member until 1992.

The memorial for the victims of the Vilnius Blood Sunday in the Antakalnis cemetery in Vilnius

Litas commemorative coin for the 5th anniversary of the Vilnius Blood Sunday

On January 10, 1991, he succeeded Kazimiera Prunskienė as Prime Minister of a transitional cabinet for three days . In the following days there was occupation of public facilities by army units of the Soviet Union . Šimėnas lost his post after the events surrounding Blood Sunday in Vilnius on January 13, 1991, when fourteen people were killed and more than 1,000 people were injured in demonstrations for Lithuania's freedom and independence from the Soviet Union. They were partly overrun by Soviet tanks and partly shot. When he disappeared without a trace for some time during these events, it was initially suspected that he was kidnapped by the Red Army . After his appearance, however, he stated that he was merely hiding. Successor as prime minister was Gediminas Vagnorius during his absence .

July 21, 1992 Prime Minister appointed him Aleksandras Abišala the economy minister in his cabinet. He held this office until December 2, 1992.

MPs and electoral defeats

Subsequently, he resumed his university career for a few years as director of the Institute for Economy and Privatization before he was re-elected as a member of the Seimas in 1996 , this time as a representative of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party ( Lietuvos Krikščionių Demokratieų Partija ) until 2000 . During this time he was a recognized economic expert and chaired the economic committee. At the same time he was Deputy Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs from 1998 to 2000 . In the parliamentary elections on October 8, 2000, he ran again for the constituency of Naujamiesčio, but achieved only third place out of a total of nine candidates with 16.0 percent.

After Lithuania joined the European Union on May 1, 2004, he ran unsuccessfully for the Christian Democratic Party for the European Parliament .

In October 2004 he also ran unsuccessfully for re-entry into the Seimas, this time only reaching seventh place out of a total of 15 candidates in the Justiniskiu constituency with 7.7 percent of the vote.

Publications

• Economic Criteria For Lithuanian's Membership In The European Union And The Outlook Of Their Fulfillment . ( Memento from April 1, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) In: EKONOMIKA , No. 44, 1998
• Development of Stock Companies . ( Memento of July 16, 2001 in the Internet Archive ) In: EKONOMIKA , No. 46, 1999
• Ūkio reforma Lietuvoje 1990-1994 metais . 1999

Web links

• Biography on the homepage of the Prime Ministers ( Memento from September 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
• Biography on the Seimas homepage
• Biographical information in rulers.org
• Homepage of the Christian Democratic Party

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gorbachev Warns The Lithuanians To Halt Defiance . In: The New York Times , January 11, 1991
2. ^ Soviet Army Raids Lithuania Offices . In: The New York Times , January 12, 1991
3. ^ The events of 1991 (No. 3.6) ( Memento from February 15, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) In: Christel Baumert: The political events in Lithuania from 1986 to 1991 in the mirror of the Soviet and German press . Diploma thesis University of Mainz, 1997
4. ^ Homepage of the Ministry of Economic Affairs
5. ^ Election results of October 8, 2000 ( Memento of July 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
6. ^ Election results from October 2004 ( Memento from July 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

predecessor	Office	successor
Kazimiera Prunskienė	Prime Minister of Lithuania March 10, 1991 - March 13, 1991	Gediminas Vagnorius