Algirdas Brazauskas was the first President of Lithuania after the Soviet Union fell apart. In February 1993, he took office as the leader of the newly independent Lithuania, which had recently broken away from the Soviet Union. Despite the fact that Lithuania declared independence from Germany at the end of World War I, the Soviet Union seized the country in 1940. After decades of political turbulence, Lithuania regained independence in 1990, and Brazauskas came to power at a critical juncture in the country’s history. He was a big player in Lithuanian politics at the time he became president, and he was a key figure in his motherland’s independence war. He was the last leader of the Lithuanian Communist Party, and in this capacity, he helped Lithuania gain independence from the Soviet Union. His political party opposed authoritarianism and favored free markets. He was also the one who convinced the ruling party to break connections with the Soviet Union, paving the way for Lithuania’s independence from the Soviet Union. When he was elected president, he faced the immense job of uniting his people and stabilizing the economy. He promoted privatization and international investment, as well as a number of progressive social changes. He was a popular president who chose not to run for re-election after his term ended.
Childhood and Adolescence
Algirdas Brazauskas was born in Rokikis, Lithuania, on September 22, 1932. Both of his parents were professionals who were passionate about politics. His father had worked as an accountant, a schoolteacher, and a civil servant at various times, while his mother was a barrister and a judge.
He attended Kaiiadorys High School and graduated in 1952. He then decided to pursue a career in engineering and enrolled at the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute, earning a civil engineering degree in 1956.
Algirdas Brazauskas was a bright young man who achieved early success in his work. He first entered politics in the mid-1960s, when he was named minister of Lithuanian SSR construction materials industry in 1965. For the next two years, he held this job.
He was appointed vice head of the State Planning Committee in 1967. Meanwhile, he decided to continue his education and earned a PhD in Economics from the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute in 1974. After completing his degree, the Lithuanian Communist Party became more interested in him. His political career flourished as he progressed through the ranks of the Lithuanian Communist Party, eventually being appointed as the Central Committee’s secretary for economic issues in 1977, a position he would occupy for the next ten years.
Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union at the time, which had seized the country in 1940. Nationalism was progressively taking hold in the country, and the pro-independence Sajudis party was gaining traction. Algirdas Brazauskas was seen as a potential ally by the party since he frequently called for greater independence from Moscow.
He was named first secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania in 1988 after the Sajudis advocated for him. The party split from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union under his leadership and became the social-democratic ‘Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania.’ His party opposed all forms of dictatorship and pressed the Soviet Union for more autonomy. He was a proponent of free markets and the privatization of industries.
The Lithuanian independence movement was gathering traction by the end of 1989, and he was seeking for a method to break free from Soviet rule. Lithuania proclaimed independence from Moscow in March 1990. The Soviets, who had imposed an economic blockade on Lithuania, were vehemently opposed to this initiative. However, by mid-1991, the Soviet Union had weakened and, in September, Lithuania had gained independence.
Algirdas Brazauskas became Speaker of the Parliament and Acting President of Lithuania when the Sajudis were voted out of power in the 1992 parliamentary elections. He then went on to win the presidential election with 60 percent of the vote, and on February 25, 1993, he was sworn in as President of Lithuania. On February 25, 1998, his term came to an end.
He returned to politics after a brief hiatus and served as Prime Minister of Lithuania from 2001 to 2006, following which he stepped down from active politics.
Achievements & Awards
Among the many accolades he got were the Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain and the Grand Cross Order of Vytautas the Great. Algirdas Brazauskas was given the Order of Honour by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for his considerable contribution to Russian-Lithuanian cooperation and excellent neighborly ties.
Personal History and Legacy
Julija Brazauskien was his first marriage. This union resulted in the birth of two daughters. The couple finally split and went their own ways. He married Kristina Brazauskien in 2002. His health deteriorated in the late 2000s, and in December 2008, he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. Algirdas Brazauskas battled his illness for several months before succumbing to it on June 26th, 2010.
Estimated Net Worth
Algirdas is one of the wealthiest politicians and one of the most well-known. Algirdas Brazauskas’ net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.