Antanas Smetona
| Antanas Smetona | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| President of Lithuania | |
|
In office 19 December 1926 – 15 June 1940 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Augustinas Voldemaras Juozas Tūbelis Vladas Mironas Jonas Černius Antanas Merkys |
| Preceded by | Aleksandras Stulginskis (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Antanas Merkys (Acting) |
|
In office 4 April 1919 – 19 June 1920 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Pranas Dovydaitis Mykolas Sleževičius Ernestas Galvanauskas |
| Succeeded by | Aleksandras Stulginskis |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 10, 1874 Užulėnis, Taujėnai, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | January 9, 1944 (aged 69) Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Resting place | All Souls Cemetery, Chardon, Ohio |
| Political party |
Lithuanian Democratic Party (1902–1907) Party of National Progress (Before 1924) Lithuanian Nationalist Union (1924–1940) |
| Spouse(s) | Sofija Chodakauskaitė-Smetonienė (1885–1968) |
| Children | Marija Danutė (1905–1992) Birutė (1906–1909) Julius Rimgaudas (1913–1974) |
| Alma mater | University of Saint Petersburg |
Antanas Smetona (Lithuanian pronunciation: [ɐn̪ˈt̪äːn̪ɐs̪ s̪ʲmʲɛt̪oːˈn̪ɐ]; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from 4 April 1919 to 19 June 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from 19 December 1926 to 15 June 1940, before its occupation by the Soviet Union. He was also one of the famous ideologists of nationalism in Lithuania.
Smetona was born on 10 August [O.S. 28 July] 1874 in the village of Užulėnis, Taujėnai volost of Ukmergė uyezd, Russian Empire, to a family of farmers – former serfs of the Taujėnai Manor which belonged to the Radziwiłł family. Researcher Kazimieras Gasparavičius has traced Smetona's patrilineal ancestry to Laurentijus who was born around 1695 and lived near Raguva. Smetona was 8th of nine children. His parents were hardworking people who managed to double their inherited 5 hectares (12 acres). His father was literate and Smetona learned the letters at home.
His father died in 1885 and, despite financial difficulties, a year later Smetona – the only of his siblings – was sent to the primary school in Taujėnai where the instruction was in Russian. His mother hoped that Smetona would become a priest. After graduation in 1889, Smetona wanted to continue his education, but gymnasiums admitted only up to age 12 and he was already 15-year old. Therefore, he had to study privately in Ukmergė to catch up and be able to pass examination to the 4th class of gymnasium. In summer 1891, he attempted to gain admission to the Liepāja Gymnasium as his brother Motiejus worked in a factory in Liepāja. He was refused and instead applied to the Palanga Pre-Gymnasium which had no age restrictions. Smetona was an exemplary student (one of top two students) and received a tuition waiver; as a superintendent of a student dormitory he also received free housing and was able to support himself by providing private lessons. Three other future signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania attended the Pro-Gymnasium at the same time: Steponas Kairys, Jurgis Šaulys, and Kazimieras Steponas Šaulys. As Palanga was close to East Prussia, it was easier to obtain Lithuanian press which was banned by Tsarist authorities. Smetona began reading Lithuanian periodicals and books, including a history of Lithuania by Maironis.
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Wikipedia