Lithuanian politician; President from 2003 until impeached in 2004
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Rolandas Paksas
(
Lithuanian:
[r??????nd?s
?paːks?s]
ⓘ
; born 10 June 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the sixth
president of Lithuania
from 2003 until his impeachment in April 2004. He previously served two terms as the
prime minister of Lithuania
in 1999, and again from 2000 to 2001, and as
Mayor of Vilnius
from 1997 to 1999 and again from 2000 to 2001. He led
Order and Justice
from 2004 to 2016 and was a
Member of the European Parliament
from 2009 to 2019.
A national
aerobatics
champion in the 1980s, after the collapse of the
Soviet Union
, Paksas founded a construction company, Restako. In 1997, he was elected to the
Vilnius City Council
for the centre-right
Homeland Union
and became
mayor
. In May 1999, Paksas was appointed Prime Minister, but resigned five months later after a disagreement over
privatisation
. Paksas joined the
Liberal Union of Lithuania
(LLS) in 2000. The LLS won the
2000 election
, and Paksas became prime minister again, but he left within seven months after another dispute over economic reforms.
In 2002, Paksas founded the
Liberal Democratic Party
, and
ran for the presidency
, winning the run-off against incumbent
Valdas Adamkus
in January 2003. It emerged that he had granted citizenship to a major campaign donor, leading to his
impeachment
and removal from office in April 2004. He was the first European
head of state
to have been impeached.
[2]
Barred from the
Seimas
, Paksas was elected to the
European Parliament
in 2009
, while leading his party, now called
Order and Justice
(TT). His lifetime ban from the Seimas was ruled to be disproportionate measure by the
European Court of Human Rights
in 2011. In 2018 the amendment which would allow Paksas to run for the Seimas was submitted.
[3]
But he will not be allowed to run for president or become the speaker of the Seimas. He is considered to be the worst President of Lithuania in modern history.
[4]
Early life, education and non-political career
[
edit
]
Paksas was born in
Tel?iai
to Feliksas and Elena. In 1974, he attended Zemaites High School and continued his studies at the
Vilnius
Civil Engineering Institute (now
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
). Paksas received a degree in civil engineering in 1979.
[5]
In 1984, he graduated from the
Leningrad Civil Aviation Academy
.
[5]
[6]
During this period, he competed in
aerobatics
competitions, participating in both Soviet and Lithuanian teams and winning several championships.
[5]
[7]
From 1992 to 1997, Rolandas Paksas was the President of the construction company
"Restako"
.
[7]
Political career
[
edit
]
Mayor of Vilnius and Prime Minister
[
edit
]
Paksas, a former member of the
Communist Party of Lithuania
(LKP) and its leftist successor
Democratic Labour Party
(LDDP) in 1995 switched his political orientation in favour of the conservative right
Homeland Union (Lithuanian Conservatives)
. In 1997, Paksas was elected to the
Vilnius City Council
and became
Mayor of Vilnius
.
[7]
Paksas also served as chairman of the Vilnius branch of the
Homeland Union (Lithuanian Conservatives)
.
In May 1999,
Gediminas Vagnorius
stepped down as prime minister and President
Valdas Adamkus
asked Paksas to replace him. The Conservatives had 68 of the
Seimas
' 138 seats and were part of an 81-member coalition with the
Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party
.
[
citation needed
]
In June 1999, he became Prime Minister, heading the ninth Government after independence. Five months later, he resigned because of a disagreement over the sale of
Ma?eiki? Nafta
, a major Lithuanian oil refining company, to a US oil company.
[5]
He then served as Special Assignments envoy to Adamkus.
[8]
After leaving Homeland Union, Paksas joined
Liberal Union of Lithuania
and in April 2000, he became Mayor of Vilnius again. In 2000, he was elected as the Prime Minister in the eleventh Cabinet and served from November 2000 to June 2001. In March 2002, Paksas was elected as a chairman of his newly founded
Liberal Democratic Party
.
[
citation needed
]
President of Lithuania
[
edit
]
On 5 January 2003, he was elected President of Lithuania, after a surprise win over the incumbent
Valdas Adamkus
in a runoff. In the first round of elections, Paksas finished second with 19.7% of vote but, in the runoff, he gathered 54.9%. His platform included pledges to reduce poverty and income disparities, fight corruption, introduce the death penalty for drug traffickers, and move Lithuania towards a more
market-based economy
.
[5]
On 26 February 2003 his term as President began. During his term, concerns arose that he had ties to the
Russian mafia
.
[2]
Yuri Borisov
[
lt
]
, president of the aviation company
Avia Baltika
[
lt
]
, had donated $400,000 to his campaign,
[2]
and was given
Lithuanian citizenship
by Paksas' decree. This decree was later ruled to be unconstitutional by the
Constitutional Court of Lithuania
. Paksas' connections were investigated by the
State Security Department of Lithuania
. In early 2004, the
Seimas
started
impeachment
proceedings against him. On 31 March 2004, the Constitutional Court of Lithuania found him guilty of violating the
Constitution of Lithuania
and his oath of office.
[9]
On 6 April 2004, the Seimas voted on three charges: that he had leaked classified information about his investigation to Borisov; that he had improperly restored Borisov's citizenship; and that he had interfered in a privatization transaction.
[2]
The vote passed, effectively removing Paksas from the presidency.
[2]
Post-impeachment legal proceedings
[
edit
]
Paksas expressed an intent to run in the June presidential election that was to replace him.
[9]
In response, on 4 May the Seimas passed a constitutional amendment barring impeached persons from standing for the presidency for five years following impeachment.
[9]
Following an appeal by Paksas' supporters, the
Constitutional Court of Lithuania
ruled the amendment unconstitutional, holding instead that persons who had violated the Constitution or failed to uphold their oaths of office could never again hold public offices that required an oath.
[9]
The District Court of Vilnius found Paksas not guilty of disclosing classified information (state secrets).
[10]
This decision was reversed in 2005 by the
Court of Appeals of the Republic of Lithuania
, on the basis that the District Court had not linked all the supporting evidence.
[10]
The Appeals Court, while finding Paksas guilty of a criminal act, did not impose a penalty, stating that Paksas's departure from public service meant that he no longer posed a threat.
[10]
In 2011, the
European Court of Human Rights
found the lifetime prohibition for Paksas to be elected to the Seimas to be disproportionate and thus in violation of the
European Convention on Human Rights
.
[11]
[12]
In September 2018, Paksas suspended his membership in the Order and Justice party. But he is still not be allowed to run for President or become the Speaker of the Seimas due to his refusal to be associated with party decisions.
[13]
[14]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Rolandas Paksas is married to
Laima Paksien?
and has two children; Inga and Mindaugas. He is also a former member of both Soviet and Lithuanian national aerobatic teams, and a skilled
stunt pilot
who currently performs around the world.
[5]
In 2006, Rolandas Paksas made a 47-day flight around the world, a trip which started and ended at
Kyvi?k?s airfield
.
[15]
[16]
[17]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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1918?1940
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Lithuanian SSR
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since 1990
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Italics
indicate acting prime ministers
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Presidents
(1919–1940)
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LKP
First Secretaries
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Presidents
(since 1990)
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Not recognized as a legitimate president
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De facto
heads of state;
de jure
heads of state were Chairmen of the Presidium of the
Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR
- 3
Was head of state, but not recognized as president
- 4
Posthumously recognized in March 2009
- Italics
denote acting leaders
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International
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National
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