Lithuanian politician; President from 2003 until impeached in 2004
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Rolandas Paksas
Paksas in 2009
6th President of Lithuania
In office 26 February 2003 – 6 April 2004
Prime Minister
Algirdas Brazauskas
Preceded by
Valdas Adamkus
Succeeded by
Artūras Paulauskas (Acting)
Member of European Parliament
In office 4 June 2009 – 1 July 2019
9th and 11th Prime Minister of Lithuania
In office 26 October 2000 – 20 June 2001
President
Valdas Adamkus
Preceded by
Andrius Kubilius
Succeeded by
Eugenijus Gentvilas (Acting)
In office 18 May 1999 – 27 October 1999
President
Valdas Adamkus
Preceded by
Irena Degutienė (Acting)
Succeeded by
Irena Degutienė (Acting)
Leader of the Opposition
In office 12 July 2001 – 1 November 2001
Succeeded by
Gintaras Steponavičius (interim)
Member of the Seimas
In office 19 October 2000 – 15 February 2003
Preceded by
Aloyzas Sakalas
Succeeded by
Andrius Kubilius
Constituency
Antakalnis
Personal details
Born
(1956-06-10) 10 June 1956 (age 67) Telšiai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union (now Lithuania)
Political party
Communist Party of Lithuania (1983~1989) Democratic Labour Party (1989–1995) Homeland Union (1995–1999) Liberal Union (1999–2002) Order and Justice (2002~2003, 2004–2018) Independent (2003~2004, 2018–present)
Spouse
Laima Paksienė
Alma mater
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Leningrad Civil Aviation Academy
Profession
Pilot, Politician, Businessman, Engineer.
Military service
Allegiance
Lithuania
Branch/service
National Defence Volunteer Forces
Rank
Major[1]
Rolandas Paksas ([rɔˈɫɐ̂ˑndɐsˈpaːksɐs]ⓘ; (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 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 PM 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 parliament was ruled to be disproportionate measure by the European Court of Human Rights in 2011. In 2018 the amendment which would allow for Paksas to run for parliamentary seat is to be submitted.[3] But he will not be allowed to run for president or become the speaker of the Parliament. He is considered to be the worst President of Lithuania in modern history.[4]
^"KASP brošiūra" (PDF).
^"Lithuanian Parliament Removes Country's President After Casting Votes on Three Charges". New York Times. 7 April 2004. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
^"Amendment to allow Paksas to run for Lithuanian parliament, president to be submitted". Lithuania Tribune. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2019 – via Delfi.
^"Politologai baisisi R.Pakso kadencijos rezultatais - Lietuvoje - m.DELFI.lt".
RolandasPaksas ([rɔˈɫɐ̂ˑndɐsˈpaːksɐs] ; (born 10 June 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the sixth president of Lithuania from 2003 until...
immediate success with the election of leader RolandasPaksas as President of Lithuania within its first year. Paksas's impeachment led to the party reorganising...
to 28 February 2003, following his defeat by RolandasPaksas in the 2003 presidential election. Paksas was later impeached and removed from office by...
theater director Rolandas Maščinskas (born 1992), Lithuanian rower Rolandas Muraška (born 1973), Lithuanian tennis player RolandasPaksas (born 1956), Lithuanian...
were held following the impeachment of President RolandasPaksas, who was elected in January 2003. Paksas was impeached for allegedly leaking classified...
2004 as the Acting President of Lithuania after the impeachement of RolandasPaksas and before the new election took place. The Social Democrats remained...
may be impeached by a three-fifths majority in the Seimas. President RolandasPaksas was removed from office by impeachment on 6 April 2004 after the Constitutional...
Stankevičius Gediminas Vagnorius Irena Degutienė RolandasPaksas Irena Degutienė Andrius Kubilius RolandasPaksas Eugenijus Gentvilas Algirdas Brazauskas Zigmantas...
resigned shortly thereafter, with the popular then-mayor of Vilnius RolandasPaksas appointed to the post of Prime Minister. His government lasted only...
resignation of RolandasPaksas (he replaced Gediminas Vagnorius as the Prime Minister and party's Board chairman), although most of the RolandasPaksas' supporters...
the second round by RolandasPaksas, a former Prime Minister and Mayor of Vilnius who received 54.2% of the vote. RolandasPaksas was subsequently impeached...
between ruling coalition, Prime Ministers Gediminas Vagnorius and RolandasPaksas and President of Republic Valdas Adamkus) caused two replacements of...
supply by LCS) 7 (1996) 9 RolandasPaksas (born 1956) 1 June 1999 27 October 1999 148 days Homeland Union (Conservatives) (TS) Paksas I TS–LKDP (confidence...
Between 1996 and 1999 Kubilius served as Deputy Speaker of Seimas. After RolandasPaksas resignation as the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Andrius Kubilius became...
Piernicola Pedicini Vice-chair: Robert Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz Vice-chair: RolandasPaksas Treasurer: Tiziana Beghin The bloc's primary goal was the reduction...
1999. RolandasPaksas would later lead another short-lived government between 2000 and 2001. The following ministers served on the First Paksas Cabinet...
Adamkus was the president since 1998. His proposed prime minister was RolandasPaksas, whose government got off to a rocky start and collapsed within seven...
former President of Lithuania RolandasPaksas, was also involved in a corruption scandal before the elections. Paksas, who is barred from being elected...
when former Prime Minister of Lithuania (and Homeland Union member) RolandasPaksas became party's leader. In 2000 municipal election the Liberal Union...
R. Paksui vilties nesuteikė" [The constitutional court did not give R. Paksas hope]. Delfi.lt (in Lithuanian). 20 March 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2015....
Finally, the Liberal Democratic Party of RolandasPaksas led a coalition "For the Order and Justice". Since Paksas was barred from participating in the elections...