Mikalojus Lip?ius
Vice-Minister of the Interior
In office 25 March 1923 ? 1924
Director of the finance department of the Ministry of Finance
In office 1 September 1927 ? 1 August 1940
Personal details
Born	( 1894-12-19 ) 19 December 1894 Bernotai , Kovno Governorate , Russian Empire
Died	25 June 1942 (1942-06-25) (aged 47) Pechora labour camp, Komi Republic , Soviet Union
Nationality	Lithuanian
Spouse	Marija Lip?ien?-Marcinkevi?i?t?
Children	2
Alma mater	Russian State Agrarian University , Vytautas Magnus University
Military service
Allegiance	Lithuania
Years of service	1919 ( Lithuanian Army ) 1919?1923 (Lithuanian intelligence services)

Mikalojus Lip?ius (also known as Mikas or Mykolas ; 19 December 1894 ? 25 June 1942) was the head of interwar Lithuanian military intelligence services (1919?1923), Vice-Minister of the Interior (1923?1924), and director of the finance department of the Ministry of Finance (1927?1940). ^[1]

Early life [ edit ]

Early life and studies [ edit ]

Mikalojus Lip?ius was born on 19 December 1893 in the village of Bernotai , ^[2] then part of the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire . Through his mother Kotryna Lip?ien? nee Ma?iulyt?, Lip?ius was nephew to the priest and poet Maironis . ^[3] Lip?ius attended the Betygala Primary School from 1901 to 1904, and the Palanga Middle School from 1904 to 1909. From 1909 to 1914 he attended a boy's gymnasium in Kaunas. ^[4] He then studied at the Riga Polytechnic Institute from 1914 to 1916. ^[1] From 1916 to 1918 he studied at the Russian State Agrarian University , ^[1] where he met his future wife, the opera soloist Marija Lip?ien?-Marcinkevi?i?t? . The couple married on 16 February 1920 in Kaunas. ^[3] They had two children, Algirdas and Aldona. Aldona was a pianist, while Algirdas was the father of the cellist Saulius Lip?ius. ^{[5] [3] [6]}

Lithuanian Wars of Independence [ edit ]

In July 1918, at the end of the First World War and the outbreak of the Lithuanian Wars of Independence , Lip?ius returned to Lithuania. He joined the Lithuanian army on 30 December 1918. He served under Vincas Grigali?nas-Glovackis  [ lt ] in the 2nd Infantry Regiment . ^{[4] [7]} He diligently organized propaganda for the Lithuanian army ^[8] to gather more volunteers. ^[9] On 13 January 1919 he was assigned to the General Staff. He became a special affairs officer, a title given to covert military intelligence personnel.

Career [ edit ]

Head of intelligence [ edit ]

Soon after he became acquainted with the News unit headed by Jonas ?ilinskas . On 12 May the unit was renamed into the Unit of Intelligence , and two days later Lip?ius was transferred to the unit as ?ilinskas's deputy. As ?ilinskas was ill and could not lead the unit, on 10 June Lip?ius was made the temporary leader of the unit, and later the permanent leader on 12 July. ^[4] However, Lip?ius soon fell ill himself and had to be substituted by Liudas Gira . ^[10] Lip?ius's unit also participated in the discovery of the Polish Military Organisation 's attempted coup of Lithuania . ^[3] In 1921 he was awarded the Order of the Cross of Vytis , 1st degree. ^[1] Under his leadership, an official statute of the intelligence agency was written, connections with Latvian intelligence services were made, and courses for intelligence officers began. Lip?ius was the first to suggest that the intelligence unit issue certificates of trust to people seeking employment in state institutions, with the goal being to prevent compromised persons from holding responsible positions. In 1922, Lip?ius studied at Vytautas Magnus University . ^[8]

Klaip?da Revolt [ edit ]

Lip?ius helped organize the Klaip?da Revolt of 1923 by establishing intelligence gathering areas near the border with the Klaip?da region , then administered by the League of Nations under a French administration. Lip?ius recruited and closely worked with Jonas Budrys , who was the head of counter-intelligence. ^{[11] [12]} Budrys was sent to Klaip?da in 1922 to explore the possibility of a revolt. ^[8]

Later years [ edit ]

Vice-Minister and director [ edit ]

On 25 March 1923, by the decree of president Aleksandras Stulginskis , Lip?ius was made Vice-Minister of the Interior . ^[13] Petras Kirlys succeeded Lip?ius as head of the Lithuanian intelligence on 10 April. ^[14] Within the Ministry, Lip?ius helped establish a secret police independent of military intelligence and the Department of Civil Protection, which had the role of criminal police. ^{[15] [3]} Lip?ius also issued the creation of the Criminal Police Department "B" ( Kriminalin?s policijos skyrius "B" ). ^[13] From 1924 to 1927 Lip?ius, under state scholarship, studied at the Paris School of Political Sciences with specialty in state finance and administration. ^{[4] [13]} On 1 September 1927 Lip?ius was appointed the director of the finance department at the Lithuanian Ministry of Finance . ^[16] In 1936 he was awarded the Klaip?da Liberation Medal and Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas . ^[1]

Imprisonment and death [ edit ]

After Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union , Lip?ius was arrested by Soviet authorities on 1 August 1940 and imprisoned in Kaunas and later Vilnius. He was sentenced to eight years of hard labour, and on 5 June 1941 was deported to Siberia to a camp near the Pechora river , where he died on 25 June 1942. ^{[1] [4]}

References [ edit ]