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Gabrielius Landsbergis

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Gabrielius Landsbergis
Landsbergis in 2024
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 December 2020
Prime MinisterIngrida Šimonytė
Preceded byLinas Linkevičius
President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
In office
17 May 2024 – 13 November 2024
Preceded byDominique Hasler
Succeeded byXavier Bettel
Member of Seimas
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 November 2016
Preceded byRasa Juknevičienė (Žaliakalnis)
Vincė Vaidevutė Margevičienė (Centras)
Succeeded bySimonas Kairys
ConstituencyCentras – Žaliakalnis
Chairman of the Homeland Union
In office
25 April 2015 – 28 October 2024
Preceded byAndrius Kubilius
Succeeded byTBA
Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė (acting)
Leader of the Opposition
In office
10 March 2020 – 12 November 2020
Preceded byJulius Sabatauskas
Succeeded bySaulius Skvernelis (2021)
Member of the European Parliament
for Lithuania
In office
1 July 2014 – 12 May 2016
Succeeded byLaima Liucija Andrikienė
Personal details
Born (1982-01-07) 7 January 1982 (age 42)
Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyHomeland Union
SpouseAustėja Landsbergienė
Children4
Alma materVilnius University

Gabrielius Landsbergis (born 7 January 1982) is a Lithuanian politician serving as the current Lithuanian minister of Foreign Affairs since 2020 in the Šimonytė Cabinet.[1] A member of the Seimas for the Žaliakalnis constituency,[2] incumbent President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and a former member of the European Parliament with the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats). He has been the Chairman of the Homeland Union since 2015.

Early life and education

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Gabrielius Landsbergis was born in Vilnius on 7 January 1982.

In 2003, Landsbergis graduated from the Faculty of History, Vilnius University and gained a bachelor's degree; in 2005, he graduated from Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science, gaining a master's degree in International Relations.

Career

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He worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and the Chancellery of the President of Lithuania. In 2007 he joined the staff of the Lithuanian embassy in the Kingdom of Belgium and to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Landsbergis returned to Lithuania in 2011 and worked in the Chancellery of the Government of Lithuania. Landsbergis speaks Lithuanian (native) and English.[3]

MEP, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs

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On 8 January 2014, Landsbergis was selected as leading candidate for the Homeland Union's list in 2014 European Parliament election,[4] and was a Member of the European Parliament between 2014 and 2016.

Landsbergis served on the Committee on International Trade and on the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. In addition to his committee assignments, he was a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights.[5]

On 25 April 2015, Landsbergis was elected as Chairman of the Homeland Union, defeating former speaker of the Seimas Irena Degutienė in the contest.[6] He was reelected in 2017. Politicians from other parties have attributed Landsbergis' success in party politics to nepotism.[7][8] He joined the staff of the foreign ministry while still a student. He was elected as an MEP on the party list only four months after joining the party, and was first elected as party chairman one year after joining. In 2021 he was one of sixteen nominees for party chairman, but was reappointed unopposed when the other fifteen withdrew.[9]

When Landsbergis asked to meet with Russian MPs and officials in Moscow in 2015 amid the Russo-Ukrainian War, his request was denied.[10]

Landsbergis meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the U.S. Department of State headquarters in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 2021.

In November 2015, Landsbergis was selected to stand in Žaliakalnis single-member constituency to the upcoming parliamentary election.[11] Due to the redrawing of single-member constituencies' boundaries, Landsbergis was proposed to the newly established Centras–Žaliakalnis single-member constituency (Centras single-member constituency candidate Gintarė Skaistė joined the multi-member list instead).[12]

By March 2016, Landsbergis resigned from the European Parliament. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, Landsbergis was the only Homeland Union candidate to win a single-member constituency in Kaunas.[13] After these elections, Landsbergis proposed to hold a leadership election, which he won.

In late 2023, 1.8% of Lithuanians trusted him more than any other Lithuanian public figure.[14]

Landsbergis is member of European Council of Foreign Relations, a think tank.[15]

Following the Homeland Union's second-place showing in the 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary election, during which Landsbergis lost in the Centras-Žaliakalnis single-member constituency, he resigned as party chair and refused to take a seat in the Seimas through the proportional list system, saying that he intended to take a break from politics.[16][17]

Policies while minister

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Taiwan

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In June 2020 Landsbergis and his soon-to-be deputy minister Mantas Adomėnas published[18] their proposed foreign policy towards China.

Policy implementation started with opening of a "Taiwanese" (as opposed to "Taipei", the usual formulation) trade office in Lithuania, playing on the Lithuanian-language ambiguity that is not present in either English or Mandarin titles. This led to effective closing of Chinese embassy in Lithuania (and vice versa).

Promises of billions of euros of Taiwanese investment did not materialize; investment totalled €16.2m into 3[19][20][21] Lithuanian startups (in reality, much less - Taiwania Capital is only a co-investor in some of the rounds), Lithuanian laser technology transfer to[22] (as opposed to from) Taiwan and €10m technology transfer to Teltonika.[23] Bilateral trade has been "falling".[24]

Other dubious benefits to Lithuania included a $600m deal with US EXIM to fund US exports[25] to Lithuania and Taiwan's Eximbank's €8m credit line to Solitek,[26] a company which was previously involved in corruption controversy involving Dainius Kreivys, another minister in the Šimonytė Cabinet.

In a foreign ministry-funded poll in late 2021 only 13%[27] of Lithuanians had positive opinion of the ministry's foreign policy towards China and Taiwan.

Family

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He is married to Austėja Landsbergienė (née Čijauskaitė). The couple has four children.

On 18 February 2022, 6 days before the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Landsbergis wife[28] bought a €795,000 villa on the Aegina island in Greece. After declaring its ownership the family refused to provide further details. With Lithuania only preparing plans for citizen evacuation in case of a potential Russian invasion in July 2024,[29] questions were raised about the timing of the purchase, with the foreign minister’s family seemingly having made arrangements years before everybody else.[citation needed]

Landsbergis ranked among the 5 wealthiest members of the 2016–2020 Seimas primarily due to his wife's chain of private schools and kindergartens which are partly funded from public sources, with estimated wealth of €19.9 million.[30] Questions have been raised about suspicious business transactions in the context of a potential conflict of interest but the matter did not go to court, although the National Tax Inspection did start a formal investigation.[31]

Landsbergis' father is Vytautas V. Landsbergis, a Lithuanian writer, and his mother is Giedrė Bukelytė.

Gabrielius is the grandson of Vytautas Landsbergis, a prominent Lithuanian politician who was one of the founders of Sąjūdis, member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and the Chairman of the Reconstituent Seimas of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union.

His great-grandfather was Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis. Alfred Rosenberg, the Reichsminister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, was a personal acquaintance, as were the likes of Juozas Vitas, a Lithuanian communist. Furthermore, he had served in the Russian army and completed school for junior officers. Such breadth of ties allowed for an unusually successful career under 3 occupying governments – with no prior government experience Žemkalnis became chief engineer, then chief architect of Vilnius under Soviet occupation in 1939–40, then minister in the Nazi caretaker Provisional Government of Lithuania in 1941 formed by the controversial Lithuanian Activist Front. In 1959 Žemkalnis returned to USSR across the Iron Curtain from exile in Australia, a unique case at the time, and together with his family was granted preferential treatment and awards in Soviet Lithuania.

Gabrielius's great-grandmother and Žemkalnis's wife was Ona Jablonskytė-Landsbergienė [lt], the daughter of linguist Jonas Jablonskis, who contributed greatly to the standardization of the Lithuanian language. During the period of Nazi occupation, Ona hid a 16-year-old Jewish girl, an act for which she was later awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations.[32] She also assisted her sister and brother-in-law in hiding another Jewish girl who was seven years old.[33] During an official state visit to Israel in 2023, Landsbergis paid respects to his great-grandmother at the Garden of the Righteous of Yad Vashem.[34]

The Landsbergis family name is of German origin; his ancestor worked as estate supervisor for a noble family.

Honors

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References

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  1. ^ "President approves makeup of Simonyte Cabinet". DELFI. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Members of the Seimas | Gabriel Landsbergis". www.lrs.lt. Archived from the original on 25 May 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Naujienos lrytas.lt". www.lrytas.lt. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Kaip pianistę keičia V. Landsbergio anūkas". DELFI.
  5. ^ "Members of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights" (PDF). European Parliament - europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Naujienos lrytas.lt". www.lrytas.lt. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  7. ^ Gylys, Povilas (24 March 2015). "Landsbergiai – nepotizmas – korupcija". Delfi. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  8. ^ Jakavonis, Gediminas (17 July 2024). "Lithuania: Nepotizmas Arba Kaip Lietuva Tampa Lansbergių Giminės Įkaite". Lietuvos aidas. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Gabrielius Landsbergis patvirtintas TS-LKD pirmininku" [Gabrielius Landsbergis confirmed as chairman of TS-LKD]. Verslo žinios. BNS. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  10. ^ Rettman, Andrew (23 January 2015). "Russia suspends official EU parliament visits". EUobserver. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  11. ^ "TS-LKD pirmininkas G. Landsbergis į Seimą kandidatuos Kaune". DELFI.
  12. ^ "Perbraižytos apygardos verčia partijas keisti rinkimų planus" [Changes to constituency borders force parties to change plans]. Delfi.lt (in Lithuanian). 18 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Iš konservatorių tvirtovės Kaune liko tik Žaliakalnis". Diena.lt. 25 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Naujausi reitingai: rinkiminiam sezonui prasidėjus, gyventojai politikų ginčams išliko apatiški". Kauno diena (in Lithuanian). 2 November 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2024. Už dešimtuko ribų – Seimo pirmininkė Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen (2,2 proc.), antisemitizmu kaltinamas parlamentaras Remigijus Žemaitaitis (2,1 proc.), „valstiečių" lyderis Ramūnas Karbauskis (2 proc.), konservatorių pirmininkas Gabrielius Landsbergis (1,8 proc.)
  15. ^ "Council members". eufr.eu.
  16. ^ "Lithuania's centre left starts coalition talks after election win". France 24. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Landsbergis steps down as conservative leader, refuses Seimas seat". LRT. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Lithuania – it's time for choosing". 15min. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  19. ^ ""Oxipit" – 3,5 mln. eurų fondo investicija". Lrt. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  20. ^ "More Lithuanian companies are expected to attract Taiwanese investments". Delfi.lt. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Lithuanian fintech firm receives $10m investment from Taiwan fund". Lrt. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Taivano atstovė apie smunkančią prekybą su Lietuva: nereikia žvelgti vien į dolerius". Lrt. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  23. ^ ""Teltonika" ir Taivano institutas pasirašė 14 mln. eurų vertės sutartį dėl lustų". Lrt. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Taivano atstovė apie smunkančią prekybą su Lietuva: nereikia žvelgti vien į dolerius". Lrt. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Lithuania to get U.S. trade support as it faces China fury over Taiwan". Lrt. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  26. ^ ""SoliTek" – 8 mln. eurų Taivano banko paskola". Lrt. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  27. ^ "Apklausa: dauguma gyventojų nepritaria Lietuvos politikai Kinijos atžvilgiu". Lrt. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  28. ^ "Prabangią Landsbergių šeimos vilą atrado lietuviams mažai žinomoje saloje: atskleidė, kas slepiama už mūrinės tvoros". Lrytas.lt. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  29. ^ "Lithuania is drawing up evacuation plan in case of war". Lithuanian National Radio and Television. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  30. ^ "Turtingiausių politikų penketuke – Matijošaitis, Karbauskis ir Gabrielius Landsbergis". lrt.lt. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  31. ^ "Persigalvojo: paviešinus deklaracijas VMI pradėjo su Landsbergiene siejamos bendrovės tyrimą". lrt.lt. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  32. ^ "Landsbergienė Ona". The Righteous Among the Nations Database. Yad Vashem. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  33. ^ "The Righteous Among the Nations Database: Petkevičius Tadas & Petkevičienė Julija (Jablonskytė)". 15 January 2001.
  34. ^ Lefkovits, Etgar (2 March 2023). "Lithuanian FM pays respect to great-grandmother honored by Yad Vashem". Jewish News Syndicate. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  35. ^ "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №595/2022". president.gov.ua. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
[edit]
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Seimas
Preceded by Member of the Seimas for Centras and Žaliakalnis
2016–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2020–present 		Incumbent
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