Valdas Adamkus (born Valdemaras Adamkevicius on November 3 , 1926 ) is the current President of the Republic of Lithuania . It is the second time (although not the second one in a row) that he is serving in this position. In Lithuania, the president's term lasts for five years; V. Adamkus' first term in office began on February 26 , 1998 and finished on February 28 , 2003, when during the presidential elections he lost to another contender, Rolandas Paksas , who was later impeached and removed from office by a parliamentary vote on April 6 , 2004. Soon afterwards, when the new election was announced, V. Adamkus ran for president and was elected once again.

He is married to Alma Nutautait?-Adamkus, a Lithuanian-American, who retained her U.S. citizenship in spite of her husband's position as Lithuania's head of state.

Early life

Born to a devoutly Roman Catholic family in Kaunas , Lithuania , Adamkus' father was one of the first heads of the Lithuanian Air Force School in the new Republic of Lithuania. As a young man Adamkus joined the underground against both the Soviets and the Nazis . In 1948 , he won Gold and Silver Medals in track and field events during the 1948 Olympic Games of the Enslaved Nations . He attended the University of Munich in Germany before emigrating to the United States in 1949 . Fluent in five languages, he served as a senior NCO with the 5th Army Reserve Military Intelligence in the 1950s.

In Chicago, he also worked in an automobile factory and as a draftsman . Adamkus graduated as a civil engineer from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1960 .

Career with EPA

Adamkus joined the United States Environmental Protection Agency on its inception in 1970 and was appointed regional administrator by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 . He was responsible for all air, water, hazardous waste, and other pollution control programs in Illinois , Indiana , Michigan , Minnesota , Ohio , and Wisconsin . In 1985 , President Reagan presented him with the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award -- the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a civil servant. He served as regional administrator for 16 years and retired in 1997 after 29 years of federal service. While serving in the U.S. government, Adamkus was a Republican.

Lithuanian Presidency

Shortly after leaving the EPA, Valdas Adamkus moved back to Lithuania. Soon after his decision to run for President he faced a legal battle in the Lithuanian courts, as questions were raised over Mr. V. Adamkus's eligibility to run for presidency due to the length of time he had spent abroad and the possibility he might not meet minimum residency requirements. However, the court resolved the case in Mr. Adamkus' favor and no other obstacles remained other than his U.S. citizenship, which he officially renounced in the American Embassy in Vilnius , a move which enabled him to register his name on the candidates' list for the Presidential campaign. He was elected as President of Lithuania in 1998, serving from then until 2003, when he ran for re-election, but was defeated unexpectedly by populist Rolandas Paksas . He came back to politics as surprisingly as he had left, after the presidential scandal of 2003/2004, when his former rival Paksas became the first European Head of State to be impeached and removed from office. Mr. Adamkus ran for President again and this time was successful.

The first round of that election was held on June 13 , 2004 , with V. Adamkus securing 30% of the vote - more than any other contender (it is worth noting that R. Paksas also wanted to run for office again, just after he had been dismissed through a parliamentary vote. However, a ruling from Lithuania's Constitutional Court "disallowed" him from running for public office and he was, therefore, unable to register as a candidate in the 2004 presidential campaign). A runoff was held on June 27 , 2004 and V. Adamkus won with about 52% of the votes against former KGB officer Kazimiera Prunskiene. Since July 12 , 2004 , he has again been serving as the President of the Republic of Lithuania .

See also

• List of Presidents of Lithuania

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