The article is a list of heads of state of Lithuania over historical Lithuanian state. The timeline includes all heads of state of Lithuania as a sovereign entity, legitimately part of a greater sovereign entity, a client state, or a constituent republic subject to an outside authority. Currently, the head of state is the President of Lithuania.
During the inaugurations of Lithuanian monarchs until 1569, the Gediminas' Cap was placed on the monarch's heads by the Bishop of Vilnius in Vilnius Cathedral.[1]
See main article: Kingdom of Lithuania. Title: King of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos karalius). Dates are approximate because of scant written sources.
|King
1236
–
1253
(as Grand Duke)
See main article: Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Title: Grand Duke (Lithuanian: didysis kunigaikštis; Belarusian: vialiki kniaź; Polish: wielki książę). Dates are approximate because of scant written sources.
|Grand Duke
1263
–
1264|| || Unknown
|Grand Duke
Lithuanian: Švarnas
1267
–
1269|| ||
Halych
|Grand Duke
1270
–
1282|||| 1220 || Ona of Masovia
1 child|| 1282
Kernavė
Aged 62|-|Grand Duke
1282
–
1285|| || Unknown ||Unknown || 3 March 1285
Died in a battle by Tver|-|}
|Grand Duke
1285
–
1291|| || None known || Unknown
The act of personal union with Poland was signed as early as 1385; however, the continuous line of common rulers of the two countries started only with Casimir IV (even then, Polish and Lithuanians twice selected different rulers following the death of an earlier common monarch, but the Lithuanian one always eventually assumed the Polish throne). The monarchs retained separate titles for both parts of the state, and their numbering was kept separate. The Jagiellon dynasty was a direct continuation of the Gediminids.|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Lithuanian: Kazimieras Jogailaitis
29 June 1440
–
7 June 1492
|||| || 30 November 1427
Kraków
See main article: Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was established by the Union of Lublin in 1569. The elected King of Poland was automatically a Grand Duke of Lithuania (until then the Lithuanian dukedom was hereditary). The first common ruler of both countries was Sigismund II Augustus.
During the Deluge of the Second Northern War, Lithuania signed the Union of Kėdainiai with the Swedish Empire in 1655, thus de jure ending its union with Poland. However, due to Sweden's losses, the agreement soon fell out of favor and was not properly enforced, leading to the further continuation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Following the partitions in 1772, 1793, and 1795, the commonwealth ceased to exist and Lithuania proper became part of the Russian Empire for 123 years. There are some gaps in the timeline as it took a while to elect a new king. The first Grand Duke elected after the Gediminid line became extinct and after the Valois fled back to France was Stephen Báthory, who had made an effort to be recognized as Grand Duke of Lithuania by establishing Vilnius University.
Title: King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
Lithuanian: Lenkijos karalius ir Lietuvos didysis kunigaikštis
Polish: Król Polski, wielki książę litewski
Latin: Rex Poloniae et Magnus Dux Lituaniae
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Sigismund II Augustus
Lithuanian: Žygimantas Augustas
1 July 1569
7 July 1572
| | | 1 August 1520
Kraków
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Henry
Lithuanian: Henrikas Valua
16 May 1573
12 May 1575
| | | 19 September 1551
Fontainebleau
|-|Queen of Poland
and Grand Duchess
Anna
Lithuanian: Ona Jogailaitė
15 December 1575
19 August 1587
(de facto)
9 September 1596
(de jure)
| | | 18 October 1523
Kraków
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Stephen Báthory
Lithuanian: Steponas Batoras
1 May 1576
12 December 1586
| | | 27 September 1533
Szilágysomlyó (Șimleu Silvaniei)
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Sigismund III
Lithuanian: Zigmantas Vaza
19 August 1587
30 April 1632
| | | 20 June 1566
Gripsholm
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Władysław IV
also Ladislaus IV
Lithuanian: Vladislovas Vaza
8 November 1632
20 May 1648
| | | 9 June 1595
Łobzów
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
John II Casimir
Lithuanian: Jonas Kazimieras Vaza
20 November 1648
16 September 1668
| | | 22 March 1609
Kraków
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Michael I
Lithuanian: Mykolas Kaributas Višnioveckis
19 June 1669
10 November 1673
| | | 31 May 1640
Biały Kamień
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
John III Sobieski
Lithuanian: Jonas Sobieskis
19 May 1674
17 June 1696
| | | 17 August 1629
Olesko
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Augustus II
Lithuanian: Augustas II Stiprusis
15 September 1697
1706
(1st reign, 9 years)| | | 12 May 1670
Dresden
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Stanislaus I
Lithuanian: Stanislovas I Leščinskis
12 July 1704
8 July 1709
(1st reign,)| | | 20 October 1677
Lwów
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Augustus II
Lithuanian: Augustas II Stiprusis
8 July 1709
1 February 1733
(2nd reign,)| | | 12 May 1670
Dresden
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Stanislaus I
Lithuanian: Stanislovas I Leščinskis
12 September 1733
26 January 1736
(2nd reign,)| | | 20 October 1677
Lwów
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Augustus III
Lithuanian: Augustas III Saksas
5 October 1733
5 October 1763
(30 years)| | | 17 October 1696
Dresden
|-|King of Poland
and Grand Duke
Stanislaus II Augustus
Lithuanian: Stanislovas Augustas II Poniatovskis
7 September 1764
25 November 1795
| | | 17 January 1732
Wołczyn
See main article: Kingdom of Lithuania (1918). The Council of Lithuania declared independence on 16 February 1918 and invited Wilhelm of Urach to become king of Lithuania. The name of the state was the Kingdom of Lithuania. On 9 July 1918, Duke Wilhelm accepted the offer and took the name Mindaugas II. However, on 2 November the council revoked this decision as it was likely Germany would lose the war.
|King
Mindaugas II
–
|||| || 30 May 1864
See main article: Republic of Lithuania.
The state of Lithuania was ruled by the Presidium of the State Council of Lithuania, its chairman was de facto Head of State. The institution of President was established on 4 April 1919. Chairman of the Presidium Antanas Smetona was elected as First President of the State of Lithuania by the State Council of Lithuania and was the only one in under whose rule this position has been considered the office of the head of state.
| Portrait | Name | Term | Party | Election | Prime Minister | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antanas Smetona | – | Party of National Progress | 1917By the Council | Position officially established on November 11, 1918 | ||
| Augustinas Voldemaras | |||||||
| Mykolas Sleževičius | |||||||
| Pranas Dovydaitis | |||||||
The institution of President (Lithuanian: Prezidentas) was created on 4 April 1919. Antanas Smetona was elected as the first President of Lithuania.
| Portrait | Name | Term | Party | Election | Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | Antanas Smetona | – | Party ofNational Progress | 4 April 1919By the Council | data-sort-value="Adams, John" | Pranas Dovydaitis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mykolas Sleževičius | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aleksandras Stulginskis Acting | – | Lithuanian ChristianDemocratic Party | Acting President as Chairman of the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ernestas Galvanauskas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kazys Grinius | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aleksandras Stulginskis | – | Lithuanian ChristianDemocratic Party | 21 December 1922By the Seimas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ernestas Galvanauskas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Antanas Tumėnas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vytautas Petrulis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leonas Bistras | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kazys Grinius | – | Lithuanian PopularPeasants' Union | 7 June 1926By the Seimas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mykolas Sleževičius | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Augustinas Voldemaras | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – | Jonas Staugaitis Acting | – | Lithuanian PopularPeasants' Union | Unelected — acting Presidentfollowing coup d'état | Augustinas Voldemaras | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – | Aleksandras Stulginskis Acting | Lithuanian ChristianDemocratic Party | Unelected — acting Presidentfollowing coup d'état]]|-| rowspan="11" || rowspan="11" |Antanas Smetona | rowspan="11" | – | rowspan="11" style="background-color:#800000" || rowspan="11" |LithuanianNationalist Union| rowspan="5" |19 December 1926In illegitimate elections|-! rowspan="10" |1|-|Juozas Tūbelis|-|Juozas Tūbelis|-| rowspan="2" |Juozas Tūbelis|-| rowspan="2" |11 December 1931In illegitimate elections|-| rowspan="2" |Vladas Mironas|-| rowspan="4" |14 October 1938In illegitimate elections|-|Vladas Mironas|-|Jonas Černius|-|Antanas Merkys|-! colspan="8" |15 June 1940 — 1st Soviet occupation of Lithuania|-!–||Antanas Merkys Acting| – | style="background-color:#800000" ||LithuanianNationalist Union|Unelected — de jureacting President|Antanas Merkys|-! rowspan="2" |–| rowspan="2" || rowspan="2" |Justas Paleckis Acting| rowspan="2" | – | rowspan="2" style="background-color:#C33B1E" || rowspan="2" |Communist Partyof Lithuania| rowspan="2" |Unelected — nominal acting President placed by the Soviet leadership|Justas Paleckis Acting|-| style="background-color:#ececec" |Position officially abolished on June 24, 1940|} Posthumously recognized acting Presidents
Following Lithuania's occupation by the Soviet Union on 15 June 1940, in his telegram dated 31 May 1940, the last Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys provisioned that, in the event of occupation, Stasys Lozoraitis, minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Rome, be appointed the head of the Lithuanian diplomatic service. The Lithuanian diplomatic service became a Government in exile that was a critical piece to ensuring the recognition of the continuity of Lithuanian legal statehood until independence after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.[4]
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1941)See main article: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania and established the Lithuanian SSR in July 1940.
Generalbezirk Litauen (1941–1944)See main article: Reichskommissariat Ostland. See main article: Generalbezirk Litauen. As Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, Lithuania liberated itself with the anti-Soviet June Uprising and re-declared Lithuanian Independence. Lithuania was ruled for some time by the Provisional Government of Lithuania, whose prime minister was Juozas Ambrazevičius. The Provisional Government was formed on 23 June 1941, but was dissolved on 5 August of the same year. Lithuania was occupied by the Germans, who formed Generalbezirk Litauen on 25 July 1941, which was governed by the administration of general commissioner Adrian von Renteln and was a part of Reichskommissariat Ostland. General Commissioners of Generalbezirk Litauen
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1944–1990)As Nazi Germany retreated, the Soviet Union reoccupied the country and reestablished the Lithuanian SSR in 1944. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet de jure acted as a collective head of state from 25 August 1940 to 11 March 1990. However, the Supreme Soviet de facto was controlled by the Communist Party of Lithuania led by the First Secretary.
Republic of Lithuania (1990–present)The leader of the Supreme Council was the official head of state from the declaration of independence on 11 March 1990 until the new Constitution came into effect in 1992 establishing the office of President and the institution of Seimas. The state and its leadership were not recognized internationally until September 1991 [NB: Iceland was the first country to recognise the regained independence of Lithuania in February 1991.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics_and_society/2016/03/07/lithuania_thank_you_iceland/|title=Lithuania: "Thank you, Iceland!|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308112412/https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics_and_society/2016/03/07/lithuania_thank_you_iceland/|archive-date=8 March 2016}}</ref> Title from 1990 to 1992: Chairman of the Supreme Council (Parliament; {{lang-lt|Aukščiausiosios Tarybos pirmininkas}}). Title from 1992 onwards: [[President of Lithuania|President]] (Lithuanian: prezidentas).
See alsoReferences
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