Introduction
The political year 2024 in Lithuania ended with the formation of a new government dominated by the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party/Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija (LSDP), which had won the most votes in the 2024 Seimas elections. However, the decision to include the newly elected populist Political Party Dawn of Nemunas/Politinė partija Nemuno aušra (PPNA) in the governing coalition sparked significant criticism, fuelling public distrust and societal tensions that carried over into 2025.
Election report
Municipal elections
In March 2025, early mayoral elections were held in the Joniškis district municipality and the city of Panevėžys. In Panevėžys, Loreta Masiliūnienė, a candidate from the political committee For a renewable Panevėžys (Atsinaujinančiam Panevėžiui) was elected Mayor, winning 72% of the vote in the second round and defeating Ignas Gaižiūnas from the Lithuanian Christian Democrats/Tėvynės Sąjunga – Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai (TS-LKD). A new mayoral election was held in Panevėžys because the incumbent Mayor, Rytis Mykolas Račkauskas – founder of the same political committee – had been found guilty in a criminal case related to misconduct in the organisation of public procurements and his mandate was revoked. In November, however, the Supreme Court of Lithuania dismissed the case against Račkauskas because of a lack of evidence of a crime, and he subsequently became the city’s vice-mayor (ELTA 2025).
In Joniškis municipality, Gediminas Čepulis from the Liberal Movement/Liberalų sąjūdis (LS), was elected Mayor in the early elections, narrowly defeating LSDP candidate Liudas Jonaitis in the second round. The early mayoral election in Joniškis was called after the former Mayor, Liberal politician Vitalijus Gailius, became a member of the Seimas.
Cabinet report
The Paluckas I cabinet, formed in December 2024, resigned in July 2025 (Table 1) and was replaced by a cabinet led by another LSDP representative, Inga Ruginienė. In addition, the Democratic Union For Lithuania/Demokratų sąjunga Vardan Lietuvos (DSVL) was replaced in the coalition by the political group consisting of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union/Lietuvos valstiečių žaliųjų sąjunga (LVŽS) and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania–Christian Families Alliance/Lietuvos lenkų rinkimų akcija-krikščioniškų šeimų sajunga (LLRA-KŠS).
Cabinet composition of Paluckas I in Lithuania in 2025
Table 1. Long description
The table provides detailed information about the composition of a cabinet in Lithuania for the year 2025. It includes data on the duration of the cabinet, its inception and dissolution dates, and the type of coalition. The table is divided into several sections: A, B, C, and D. Section A outlines the party and gender composition on January 1, 2025, listing the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, Political Party ‘Down of Nemunas’, and Democratic Union ‘For Lithuania’ with their respective seats in the cabinet, seats held by women, and seats in parliament. Section B describes the composition of the Prime Minister’s cabinet on January 1, 2025. Section C notes that there were no cabinet changes during 2024. Section D repeats the party and gender composition but for July 31, 2025, showing no changes from January. Each section provides a snapshot of the political landscape and gender representation within the cabinet.
Source: Government of the Republic of Lithuania (2026).
Paluckas I cabinet: ending July 2025
Gintautas Paluckas (LSDP) became the first Prime Minister of Lithuania not to serve a full four-year term since 2008. His resignation followed a series of public disclosures regarding past instances of non-transparency and possible corruption. The chain of scandals began in April 2025, when the investigative journalism centre Siena and Laisvės TV revealed that the company Garnis, co-owned by Paluckas and his business partner, had received a preferential loan of 200,000 EUR from the national development finance institution Investment in the Lithuanian Economy (ILTE). As this occurred while Paluckas was already serving as Prime Minister, it raised concerns about a possible conflict between private and public interests.
A wave of further reports followed, concerning various alleged schemes involving Paluckas (Samoškaitė Reference Samoškaitė2025b). These included: 1) his ties to businessmen through potentially non-transparent arrangements (such as preferential transactions rather than standard loans and deals); 2) failure to fully settle court-ordered compensation to the Vilnius municipality from a 2012 case in which Paluckas was found liable in the so-called ‘rat case’, 3) purchase of an apartment from a Cyprus-based company at a preferential price on a plot of land that Paluckas had helped to establish while previously serving as director of administration in the Vilnius municipality. Finally, it was reported that a company called Dankora, owned by his sister-in-law, had received EU funding and spent most of it purchasing goods from Garnis, a company partly owned by Paluckas.
As these stories dragged on for several months and public pressure increased, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) stood firmly behind its Prime Minister: maintaining that he should remain in office until law enforcement authorities presented their findings regarding the legitimacy of his business activities and assets. At the end of July, President Gitanas Nausėda set a two-week deadline for Prime Minister Paluckas to address public concerns regarding his business activities and to assess whether he was fit to remain in office. However, the following day, after officers of the Financial Crime Investigation Service carried out searches at Dankora, Paluckas voluntarily resigned on 31 July from the post of Prime Minister as well as from the position of Chairman of the LSDP.
After the resignation of Gintautas Paluckas, the remaining ministers continued to serve in a caretaker capacity. President Nausėda appointed Finance Minister Rimantas Šadžius as acting Prime Minister. Šadžius served until a new government, led by Inga Ruginienė, was appointed in September.
Rugienienė I cabinet: beginning September 2025
The resignation of Gintautas Paluckas triggered a leadership crisis within the governing LSDP. Several potential candidates for prime minister emerged, including a representative of the party’s older guard and former Minister of National Defence (2008–2012) Juozas Olekas, Minister for Social Security and Labour Inga Ruginienė, acting LSDP chairman Mindaugas Sinkevičius, Mayor of Vilnius district municipality Robertas Duchnevičius, and Minister for Transport and Communications Eugenijus Sabutis. However, as candidates gradually withdrew for various, sometimes undisclosed, reasons, the party presidium was ultimately left with effectively a single choice, Ruginienė (Platūkytė Reference Platūkytė2025).
Although she has extensive experience in the trade union sector, including serving as Chair of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation, Ruginienė was a relative newcomer to party politics, having been elected to the Seimas for the first time with the LSDP in 2024. On 26 August, President Gitanas Nausėda appointed Ruginienė as Prime Minister, and the Seimas approved her appointment with 78 votes in favour, 35 against, and 14 abstentions (Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania 2025a).
Both coalition and ministerial changes followed the change of Prime Ministers. Former coalition partner Democratic Union For Lithuania (DSVL, 14 seats in Seimas) was replaced by a parliamentary grouping consisting of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS, 8 seats) and Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance (LLRA-KŠS, 3 seats), a party representing the Polish minority (Table 2). The government formally remained oversized, since the two main partners, left-wing LSDP (52 seats) and its junior partner, populist PPNA (19 seats), together already held a minimum winning majority of 71 seats.
Cabinet composition of Ruginienė I in Lithuania in 2025
Table 2. Long description
The table provides detailed information on the cabinet composition in Lithuania for 2025. It includes sections on the duration of the cabinet, party and gender composition on specific dates, ministerial titles, and changes in composition. The table has four main sections: A, B, C, and D. Section A outlines the duration of the cabinet and the party/gender composition on 25 September 2025. Section B lists the composition of Ruginienė I cabinet on cabinet inception date 25 September 2025. Section C details changes in composition of Ruginienė I cabinet during 2025. Section D shows the party/gender composition on 31 December 2025. Each section provides specific data on parties, seats in cabinet, seats held by women, and seats in parliament. The table includes detailed information on ministerial titles, birth dates, genders, and parties of the ministers.
Source: Government of the Republic of Lithuania (2026).
The main reasons behind DSVL’s ousting from the government were likely its increasingly outspoken stance within the coalition, particularly its calls for Paluckas to resign, as well as its reluctance to continue governing alongside PPNA. The Social Democrats chose to maintain the coalition with PPNA despite a series of scandals related to the party and its leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, that drew continuous criticism in the public sphere. For example, in May the Central Electoral Commission ruled that PPNA had violated election law by concealing non-monetary contributions from three legal entities (Samoškaitė Reference Samoškaitė2025a). In December, the Vilnius Regional Court found Žemaitaitis guilty of promoting and inciting hatred against a group of persons on the basis of their nationality.
The share of ministerial positions previously allocated to DSVL (two ministries) were redistributed to LVŽS (one minister in the new government) and LLRA-KŠS (also one minister). Ruginienė and the LSDP leadership also used this opportunity to reshuffle parts of the cabinet, most notably replacing former Finance Minister Šadžius with Kristupas Vaitiekūnas. Although President Gitanas Nausėda had previously insisted that the populist PPNA could delegate only technocratic ministers, he also sought to retain Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas (previously delegated by DSVL, which had left the coalition). As a result of negotiations, Vaičiūnas remained in the government (formally nominated by LSDP), while PPNA also appointed a party-affiliated minister, Ignotas Adomavičius, to the Ministry of Culture.
On 25 September, Parliament approved the government’s programme with 80 votes (Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (2025b). However, changes in the newly formed government followed soon after. First, Adomavičius resigned from the Ministry of Culture only eight days after the government’s confirmation, on 3 October. His candidacy (also see Issues in national politics) triggered protests and a strike organised by representatives of the cultural sector. The protesters opposed not only Adomavičius himself, but also the delegation of the ministry to the populist PPNA, fearing potential pressure for the cultural sector. One of the factors behind his resignation was an interview in which a journalist asked about Crimea, and Adomavičius failed to clearly state that it belongs to Ukraine (Skėrytė and Perminas Reference Perminas2025). He was replaced by Vaida Aleknavičienė from LSDP, effectively transferring the ministry’s control from PPNA to LSDP.
Second, the Minister of National Defence, Dovilė Šakalienė, was replaced by another LSDP politician, Robertas Kaunas. After losing the Prime Minister’s confidence and consultations with President Gitanas Nausėda, Šakalienė resigned on 21 October. Prime Minister Ruginienė stated that Šakalienė had lost her confidence following an incident in which the minister invited political observers and influencers to a private meeting and indicated that the government did not plan to allocate 5% of GDP to defence spending (later this information was disclosed to the public by the same observers). However, the subsequently announced draft budget for the following year projected defence spending at 5.38% of GDP (BNS 2025a).
Parliament report
Although no parliamentary elections were held during 2023, several changes took place in Parliament (see Table 3). On 14 January, Member of the Seimas Agnė Širinskienė left the PPNA parliamentary group and withdrew from the party because of disagreements with the party chairman Remigijus Žemaitaitis. She joined the DSVL parliamentary group. Following this decision, she also resigned from her position as Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, to which she had been delegated by the PPNA (BNS 2025b). In October, Dainius Varnas also left the PPNA political group in the Seimas and later joined the DSVL group.
Party and gender composition of Seimas in Lithuania in 2025
Table 3. Long description
The table presents the party and gender composition of the Seimas in Lithuania on 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025. It includes data for various political parties, showing the total number of members (All) and the number of women (Women) in each party. The table has 8 rows and 8 columns. Column headers are Party, All N, All %, Women N, Women %, All N, All %, Women N, Women %. Row labels include Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats, Political Party ‘Down of Nemunas’, Union of Democrats ‘For Lithuania’, Liberals’ Movement, Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, and Others/Independents. Each row provides the number and percentage of members and women for each party on the specified dates.
Source: Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (2026).
On 10 September, Social Democrat Juozas Olekas, serving his seventh term in parliament, was elected Speaker of the Seimas. He replaced Democrat Saulius Skvernelis, who resigned from the position after his party was not invited to join the new ruling coalition.
Political party report
Several significant changes in party leadership took place in 2025 (Table 4). On 9 February, Laurynas Kasčiūnas – a member of the Seimas and former Minister of National Defence – was elected chair of the TS-LKD, receiving 78% of the votes from party members and supporters in a direct leadership election and easily defeating four other competitors (Perminas and Skėrytė Reference Perminas and Skėrytė2025). The leadership election was held after former Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis stepped down from the position following the party’s defeat in the Seimas elections in October of the previous year.
Changes in political parties in Lithuania in 2025
Table 4. Long description
The table is divided into two sections: A. Party institutional changes in 2024 and B. Party leadership changes in 2024. Section B lists the parties, positions, outgoing leaders, dates of change, incoming leaders, and comments. The parties include Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS), Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), and National Alliance (NS). Each row provides details on the leadership transition, including the names, genders, and birth years of the outgoing and incoming leaders, along with the specific dates of the changes and any relevant comments.
Source: Perminas and Skėrytė Reference Perminas and Skėrytė2025, Perminas Reference Perminas2025.
On 1 March, Member of the European Parliament Aurelijus Veryga was elected as the new chair of the LVŽS, replacing businessman Ramūnas Karbauskis, who had led the party – with some breaks – since 1997 (Perminas Reference Perminas2025). After an underwhelming performance in the Seimas elections, Karbauskis chose not to run for re-election as party leader and decided to withdraw from both the party and politics altogether. Veryga was the only candidate in the leadership election.
On 31 July, Gintautas Paluckas resigned as chair of the LSDP alongside his resignation from the post of Prime Minister because of allegations of non-transparent business practices (see Cabinet report). He was temporarily replaced as party leader by the former first deputy chair, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, the Mayor of the Jonava district.
On 6 September, MP Vytautas Sinica – the National Alliance’s sole representative in the Seimas – was elected chair of the party, which has been affected by internal disputes. Supporters of the former chair, Vytautas Radžvilas, challenged the decision in court, arguing that the party congress had been convened unlawfully.
Issues in national politics
In 2025, a number of important decisions were taken to further strengthen Lithuania’s defence capabilities and reduce its dependence on Russia. On 8 February, Lithuania – together with Latvia and Estonia – disconnected from the Russian IPS/UPS electricity system, which had been operating since the Soviet era, and began operating in isolated mode; the following day, the Baltic states synchronised their electricity grids with Western Europe.
On 22 May, Germany’s 45th Armoured Brigade was officially inaugurated in Lithuania. It is planned to be built up in stages to a strength of 4,800 service members and 200 civilian Bundeswehr personnel, representing the largest German Army contribution on NATO’s eastern flank to date (Bundeswehr 2025).
On 11 December, the Seimas adopted the 2026 state budget, which includes a record 5.38% of GDP allocated to defence spending. On 15 December, the State Defence Council decided to establish a brigade-sized military training area in the Lazdijai district, in Kapčiamiestis, and to double the size of the Tauragė training area.
In June 2025, the Seimas approved a comprehensive tax reform package covering corporate income tax, personal income tax (PIT), real estate taxation, and several other levies. The reform was primarily aimed at introducing a more progressive taxation system while ensuring sustainable revenue to support national defence funding. From 2026, the standard corporate income tax rate increases from 16% to 17%, while the reduced rate for small businesses rises from 6% to 7%. At the same time, Lithuania transitions to a progressive PIT regime, under which total income – including wages, self-employment earnings, rental income, and capital gains – will be taxed at rates of 20%, 25%, or 32%, depending on income level (Kanciene Reference Kanciene2025).
In late 2025, Lithuania faced a so-called ‘balloon crisis’, as repeated incursions of balloons drifting in from Belarus disrupted civilian aviation and raised national security concerns (Reinsford Reference Rainsford2025). These devices – commonly used for cigarette smuggling – became more frequent as a byproduct of the increasingly fortified land border. At the end of October, airports in Vilnius and Kaunas were forced to suspend operations multiple times because of airspace risks. On 29 October, the government responded by closing the border with Belarus for a month. As the situation persisted, on 9 December the government declared a nationwide state of emergency, citing threats to national security and civil aviation, and deployed the Lithuanian Armed Forces to assist in managing the crisis.
The year 2025 in Lithuania was marked by mass protests against the government. In mid-2025, demonstrations were linked to political controversies surrounding Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and culminated in his resignation amid mounting public pressure. In Autumn, one of the most prominent mobilisations emerged in the cultural sector following the controversial appointment of Ignotas Adomavičius as Minister of Culture (see Cabinet report) who was widely criticised for lacking the necessary competence and for his political affiliation with the PPNA. The cultural community organised rapidly, establishing the Cultural Assembly, which coordinated a wide range of protest actions, including a nationwide warning strike, a petition campaign, the ‘Month of Cultural Protest’, rallies in Vilnius and other parts of Lithuania.
The most significant mass mobilisation occurred in December 2025, when thousands protested against the proposed amendments to the law governing the public broadcaster Lithuanian National Television and Radio (LRT). Politicians proposed amendments to the law that would remove the requirement to justify the dismissal of the LRT Director General on the grounds of public interest. Under the proposal, the director could be dismissed for improper performance of duties or if the LRT Council failed to approve the broadcaster’s annual activity report. The changes would also lower the threshold for dismissal, allowing it with the support of seven Council members instead of the current eight, and would introduce a secret ballot for such decisions (Jurčenkaitė et al. Reference Jurčenkaitė, Vireliūnaitė and Pankūnė2025). On 9 December demonstrations in Vilnius drew over 10,000 participants and continued for consecutive weeks, emphasising concerns about media independence and political interference. The protests, supported by petitions, filibustering of opposition and international criticism, contributed to postponing the legislation into 2026.
Data availability statement
The data for this article can be found at the PDY Interactive website: http://politicaldatayearbook.com.
Acknowledgements
The authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI) to assist with language editing of the manuscript, including grammar correction and the translation of some text from Lithuanian into English. The use of ChatGPT was limited to language editing and translation; it was not used to formulate substantive arguments and conclusions. All AI-assisted text was reviewed and verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the content of the manuscript.
Competing interests
The authors declare none.
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