The sad news was confirmed by the Speaker of the Seimas, Juozas Olekas, to 15min.
“Yes, unfortunately, but the first female prime minister has left our ranks. Condolences.
She was a person who taught service, professional dedication to work, dedication to each other, to the people of Lithuania.
Read more JAV economic growth in the second quarter did not meet expectations
We lost a very prominent, important person who contributed greatly to the creation of an independent democratic Lithuania,” said J. Olekas.
The First Head of Government
Kazimira Prunskienė was the first head of the Lithuanian government after the restoration of independence, actively participating in the country’s politics for several decades.
Born in 1943 in the village of Vasiuliškės, Švenčionys district, K. Prunskienė completed secondary school in Vilnius and obtained an education in economics at university, later becoming a Doctor of Economic Sciences and a professor. At the end of the 1980s, during the independence movement, she became a people’s deputy.
K. Prunskienė, together with other signatories, signed the Act of the Restoration of the Independent State on March 11, 1990, and soon became the first prime minister after the restoration of independence. That year, as Lithuania sought recognition, she met with leaders of the USA, Great Britain, and France.
“We chose from professionals – deputies Algirdas Brazauskas and Romualdas Ozolas were from different political forces. We worked harmoniously as a team and today we can confidently look each other in the eye, knowing that we honorably fulfilled our mission during difficult times,” said K. Prunskienė in 2010, marking the twentieth anniversary of the government.
K. Prunskienė stepped down from the prime minister position in January 1991, just before the bloody events of January 13 at the TV tower, when the Supreme Council revoked the controversial decision of her government to raise food prices.
Read more In August on the roads – increased police control: announces what will be checked
K. Prunskienė remained active in Lithuanian politics in later years – she was a member of the Seimas from 1996 to 2008, and served as Minister of Agriculture in left-wing governments from 2004 to 2008.
She has led the Lithuanian Women’s Party, the New Democracy/Women’s Party, the New Democracy Party, the Union of Peasants and New Democracy Parties, the Lithuanian People’s Party, and during the Soviet occupation belonged to the Communist Party.
Fatal Stroke
In 2012, K. Prunskienė suffered a stroke, after which her speech was severely impaired, and due to her health condition, she did not return to active politics. The tragedy struck the former prime minister as she was preparing to celebrate her 69th birthday with friends. Despite great efforts, she never recovered from the stroke and lived under the care of relatives.
Since the restoration of independence, K. Prunskienė was shadowed by allegations of possible collaboration with the Soviet KGB.
The years-long court marathon ended in January 2011 when the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court, by an unappealable ruling, annulled the decision of the Lustration Commission. This commission had previously unanimously recognized that the politician secretly collaborated with the KGB during the Soviet occupation, carrying out intelligence, counterintelligence, and ideological intelligence tasks.
Read more Property management company aims to terminate fuel station lease agreements with «Viada» and «Degta»
