1918 proclamation restoring the independent State of Lithuania
Act of Independence of Lithuania
Hand-written original of the document
Ratified
February 16, 1918
Location
Rough draft: House of the Signatories
Author(s)
Jonas Vileišis, Petras Klimas, Mykolas Biržiška, Steponas Kairys
Signatories
20 representatives of the Council of Lithuania
Purpose
To announce separation from the Russian Empire
The Act of Independence of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or the Act of February 16th,[1] also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Nutarimas), [Note 1] was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty representatives of the Council, which was chaired by Jonas Basanavičius. The Act of February 16 was the result of a series of resolutions on the issue, including one issued by the Vilnius Conference and the Act of January 8. The path to the Act was long and complex because the German Empire exerted pressure on the Council to form an alliance. The Council had to carefully maneuver between the Germans, whose troops were present in Lithuania, and the demands of the Lithuanian people.
The immediate effects of the announcement of Lithuania's re-establishment of independence were limited. Publication of the Act was prohibited by the German authorities, and the text was distributed and printed illegally. The work of the Council was hindered, and Germans remained in control over Lithuania.[2] The situation changed only when Germany lost World War I in the fall of 1918. In November 1918 the first Cabinet of Lithuania was formed, and the Council of Lithuania gained control over the territory of Lithuania.[3] Independent Lithuania, although it would soon be battling the Wars of Independence, became a reality.
The laconic Act is the legal basis for the existence of modern Lithuania, both during the interwar period and since 1990.[4] The Act formulated the basic constitutional principles that were and still are followed by all Constitutions of Lithuania. The Act itself was a key element in the foundation of Lithuania's re-establishment of independence in 1990.[5] Lithuania, breaking away from the Soviet Union, stressed that it was simply re-establishing the independent state that existed between the world wars and that the Act never lost its legal power. [6]
^Didžiąja ar mažąja rašyti žodį „aktas“ dokumento, kuriuo atkurta Lietuvos Nepriklausomybė, pavadinime?, State Commission on the Lithuanian language
^Cite error: The named reference el was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Vardys, Vytas Stanley; Judith B. Sedaitis (1997). Lithuania: The Rebel Nation. Westview Series on the Post-Soviet Republics. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. pp. 22–23. ISBN 0-8133-1839-4.
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^Cite error: The named reference VAR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference LRS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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