Augustinas Voldemaras
| Augustinas Voldemaras | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Prime Minister of Lithuania | |
|
In office 11 November 1918 – 26 December 1918 |
|
| Succeeded by | Mykolas Sleževičius |
|
In office 17 December 1926 – 23 September 1929 |
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| Preceded by | Mykolas Sleževičius |
| Succeeded by | Juozas Tūbelis |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
|
In office 11 November 1918 – 19 June 1920 |
|
| Prime Minister | Himself Mykolas Sleževičius Pranas Dovydaitis Ernestas Galvanauskas |
| Succeeded by | Juozas Purickis |
|
In office 21 April 1925 – 31 May 1926 |
|
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Mykolas Sleževičius |
| Succeeded by | Juozas Tūbelis |
| Minister of Defense | |
|
In office 11 November 1918 – 24 December 1918 |
|
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Mykolas Velykis |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
16 April 1883 Dysna, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) |
| Died | 16 May 1942 (aged 59) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Resting place | Unknown |
| Political party |
Party of National Progress (1916-1924) Lithuanian Nationalist Union (1924-1929) |
| Spouse(s) | Matilda Voldemarienė |
| Alma mater | Saint Petersburg Imperial University |
Augustinas Voldemaras (16 April 1883 – 16 May 1942) was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He briefly served as the country's first prime minister in 1918 and continued serving as the minister of foreign affairs until 1920, representing the fledging Lithuanian state at the Versailles Peace Conference and the League of Nations. After some time in academia, Voldemaras returned to politics in 1926, when he was elected to the Third Seimas.
Dissatisfied with the left-wing government of President Kazys Grinius, Voldemaras and fellow nationalist Antanas Smetona supported the military coup d'état in December 1926 and he was appointed as the prime minister for a second time. A brilliant orator, Voldemaras represented the radical wing of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union that was increasingly critical of the more moderate policies of President Smetona. Smetona had Voldemaras removed from office in September 1929 and exiled to Zarasai. Voldemaras was arrested in 1934 after a failed coup against Smetona and served a prison sentence until exiled to France in 1938. Returning to Lithuania soon after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, he was promptly arrested by the Soviet authorities and died in their custody in Moscow.
Voldemaras was born on 16 April 1883 in Dysna village in what is now Ignalina district municipality, Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire). Though born to a family of modest means and education, Augustinas exceled at his studies. He finished the public school in nearby Tverečius and graduated from a three-year school in Švenčionys. In 1890 he moved to Saint Petersburg to join his brother who had been working there. In 1902, Voldemaras passed the exams to enter a gymnasium, eventually graduating with distinction in 1904. While preparing for the exams in 1901, Voldemaras met Antanas Smetona who would become his close friend, political collaborator and, eventually, his political nemesis.
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