Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR

The Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR (Lithuanian: Lietuvos TSR Ministrų Taryba) or Council of People's Commissars in 1940–46 (Lithuanian: Lietuvos TSR Liaudies Komisarų Taryba) was the cabinet (executive branch) of the Lithuanian SSR, one of the republics of the Soviet Union. Its structure and functions were modeled after the Council of People's Commissars and Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union. The Council consisted of a chairman, first vice-chairman, vice-chairmen, ministers, and chairmen of state committees. The council's chairman was equivalent to a prime minister and was second in rank after the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania.

After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940, Vladimir Dekanozov organized a transitional government, known as the People's Government of Lithuania, and staged elections to the People's Seimas (parliament). During its first session, the parliament proclaimed creation of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and petitioned for admission to the Soviet Union. On August 3, 1940, the petition was accepted. A new constitution, copied from the 1936 Soviet Constitution, was adopted on August 25 and the People's Government was replaced by the Council of People's Commissars.

In June 1941, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Council evacuated to interior of Russia and was inactive. It returned in July 1944, after the victory of the Red Army in the Operation Bagration. In March 1946, the Council of People's Commissars was renamed to the Council of Ministers as part of the all-union renaming of the Soviet government. Due to lack of reliable Lithuanian communists, Russian cadres were imported to various positions at the ministries. In 1947, about one-third of the ministers plus a majority of deputy ministers were Russians.

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