Lithuania Government Profile 2008

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania
conventional short form: Lithuania
local long form: Lietuvos Respublika
local short form: Lietuva
former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type

parliamentary democracy

Capital

name: Vilnius
geographic coordinates: 54 41 N, 25 19 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions

10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus

Independence

11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)

National holiday

Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 11 March 1990 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution

adopted 25 October 1992

Legal system

based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Valdas ADAMKUS (since 12 July 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Gediminas KIRKILAS (since 4 July 2006)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 13 and 27 June 2004 (next to be held in June 2009); prime minister appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament
election results: Valdas ADAMKUS elected president; percent of vote - Valdas ADAMKUS 52.2%, Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE 47.8%; Gediminas KIRKILAS approved by Parliament 85-13 with five abstentions

Legislative branch

unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats; 71 members are elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 and 24 October 2004 (next to be held in October 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - Labor 28.6%, Working for Lithuania (Social Democrats and Social Liberals) 20.7%, TS 14.6%, For Order and Justice (Liberal Democrats and Lithuanian People's Union) 11.4%, Liberal and Center Union 9.1%, Farmers and New Democracy Union 6.6%, other 9%; seats by faction - Social Democrats 38, TS 25, Labor 23, Farmers National Union 13 (combined with Civil Democracy), Liberal Democrats/Order and Justice 11, New Union Social Liberals 10, Liberal and Center Union 10, Liberal Movement 9, independent 2 (as of April 2008)

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders

Civil Democracy Party or PDP [Viktor MUNTIANAS]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI]; National Farmer's Union or VLS [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS]; Labor Party or DP [Viktor USPASKICH]; Liberal and Center Union [Arturas ZUOKAS]; Liberal Democrats/Order and Justice Party or TT [Rolandas PAKSAS]; Liberal Movement or LLS [Petras AUSTREVICIUS]; Social Democratic Party or LSDP [Gediminas KIRKILAS]; Social Liberal/New Union [Arturas PAULAUSKAS]; Young Lithuania and New Nationalists [Stanislovas BUSKEVICIUS]

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

International organization participation

ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Audrius BRUZGA
chancery: 4590 MacArthur Blvd. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860
FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466
consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador John A. CLOUD
embassy: Akmenu Gatve 6, Vilnius, LT-03106
mailing address: American Embassy, Akmenu Gatve 6, Vilnius LT-03106
telephone: [370] (5) 266 5500
FAX: [370] (5) 266 5510

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red