Justas Paleckis
| Justas Paleckis | |
|---|---|
| President of Lithuania (not recognized) | |
|
In office 17 June 1940 – 3 August 1940 |
|
| Preceded by | Antanas Merkys |
| Succeeded by | Himself as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR |
| Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR | |
|
In office 25 August 1940 – 14 April 1967 |
|
| Preceded by | Himself as de facto President of Lithuania |
| Succeeded by | Motiejus Šumauskas |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
10 January 1899 Telšiai, Lithuania |
| Died | 26 January 1980 (aged 81) |
| Nationality |
 Lithuanian |
| Political party | Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union |
Justas Paleckis (22 January [O.S. 10 January] 1899 – 26 January 1980) was a Lithuanian journalist and politician. He was acting president of Lithuania after the Soviet invasion while Lithuania was still ostensibly independent, in office from 17 June to 3 August 1940. He then remained as the nominal head of state of the Lithuanian SSR until 1967.
Paleckis was born in Telšiai in 1899. In 1926–1927, he was a director of the Lithuanian official news agency, ELTA. He later voiced opposition to the ruling elite in Lithuania; in this way, he became a suitable candidate for the Lithuanian communists (manipulated by Soviet envoy Vladimir Dekanozov) to become the puppet leader of Lithuania in the Soviets' planned takeover of the country in 1940.
After President Antanas Smetona fled to the US when the Soviet Union occupied the country, Prime Minister Antanas Merkys became acting president. A day after Smetona left the country, Merkys announced he had formally ousted Smetona and taken over the presidency himself. He then appointed Paleckis prime minister. Merkys himself resigned, making Paleckis acting president as well. These moves are now considered illegal and unconstitutional, since Smetona never resigned. As such, Lithuanian diplomats do not count Paleckis as a legitimate president.
By this time, Lithuania had been occupied by Soviet troops. Paleckis' appointment as Prime Minister was made under orders form the Soviet embassy in Kaunas. Aided by specialists sent in from Moscow, Soviet deputy foreign minister Vladimir Dekanozov worked through the Lithuanian Communist Party, while the cabinet of ministers, headed by Paleckis, served an administrative function. Dekanozov and Paleckis brought a number of non-Communists into the first "People's government", but in historical retrospect it is clear that they constituted window dressing for the Soviet takeover. In order to save face, the Soviet Union attempted to cover its annexation of the Baltic States with a cloak of legality. Therefore, Moscow ordered the Paleckis government to carry out elections for a "People's Seimas" on 14–15 July. Voters were presented with a single list of candidates containing only Communists and their allies. The People's Seimas met on 21 July, with only one order of business—a request for admission to the Soviet Union, which was unanimously carried. A few days later, Moscow "accepted" the request—thus giving credence to the official line that Lithuania had carried out a socialist revolution and requested admission to the Soviet Union.
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