Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Lithuania)


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania is a governmental body of the Republic of Lithuanian that shapes the national policy, and organises, coordinates, and controls its enforcement in the following areas: foreign affairs and security policy: international relations, economic security, foreign trade, protection of the rights and interests of the Republic of Lithuania and its persons and entities abroad; coordination of European Union membership; representing the Republic of Lithuania abroad diplomatic and consular relations, diplomatic service, Lithuanian national and diplomatic protocol, international relations; the policy of cooperation of the Republic of Lithuania; strengthening of expat connections with Lithuania. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established on 4 November 1918, shortly after Lithuania reestablished its independence.

Activity

The head of the Ministry is the foreign minister. The current head of the Ministry is Linas Antanas Linkevičius. He is appointed and revoked by the President of the Republic of Lithuania by motion from the Prime Minister. The foreign minister is subordinate to the Parliament, the President, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania. The foreign minister supervises the Ministry, deals with matters that lay within its sphere of competence, signs international agreements, ensures the enforcement of regulations the Ministry is tasked to oversee, files bills, ensures the execution of orders from the Government and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, approves Strategic Planning Methodology, issues annual reports, coordinates and controls the work of administrational departments of the Ministry, as well as the activities of diplomatic missions, consular establishments and offices of the Republic of Lithuania to international organizations, file motions to the President of the Republic of Lithuania to award the diplomatic ranks of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania, envoy extraordinary of the Republic of Lithuania, and minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania, and to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, to appoint or recall diplomatic representatives, defines the areas of activity for vice-ministers, and areas of cooperation for the Ministry chancellor.
In his work, the minister is advised by officers of political trust – vice-ministers. The Ministry may not have more than four of them. They organise and control execution of orders, the drafting and approval of draft regulations, and represent the minister by assignment, presenting the minister's political attitudes and decisions to the public.
The analysis, planning, formation, coordination, and enforcement of Lithuania's foreign policy is done by the political director of the Foreign Ministry. The director's functions include high-level representation of Lithuania abroad. The political director is involved in the activities of the Ministry's management, cooperates with the Ministry's administrative departments, domestic and foreign institutions, bodies, and individual partners. The director also supervises the formation, enforcement, and development of the security policy and cooperation with foreign countries, regions, and international organizations, the strengthening of the Eastern neighborhood policy, human rights and democracy, European policy, trans-Atlantic and developmental cooperation, and support of democracy.
The head of the Ministry's administration is the chancellor. The chancellor coordinates and controls the activities of the Ministry's administrative departments, ensures that financial and intellectual resources, assets and information are used optimally to achieve the Ministry's strategic operating goals and objectives.
The foreign minister has an advisory institution, the so-called board.

Structure

By order approved on 26 January 2016, the Foreign Ministry has 19 departments:
  1. The Policy Planning Department
  2. The United Nations, International Organisations, and Human Rights Department
  3. The European Countries Department
  4. The Developmental Cooperation Department
  5. The Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania Department
  6. The Foreign Lithuanians Department
  7. The European Union Department
  8. The External Economic Relations Department
  9. The Economic Security Policy Department
  10. The Human Resources Department
  11. The Administrative Department
  12. The Information Technology Department
  13. The Financial Department
  14. The National and Diplomatic Protocol Department
  15. The Legal and International Contracts Department
  16. The Consular Department
  17. The Eastern Neighborhood Policy Department
  18. The Trans-Atlantic Cooperation and Security Policy Department
  19. The Information and Public Relations Department

    Ministers of Foreign Affairs

Interwar and in exile

From 1990

Parties
#PictureNameFromUntilPolitical PartyCabinet
1Algirdas Saudargas
17 March 19902 December 1992LKDPPrunskienė
1Algirdas Saudargas
17 March 19902 December 1992LKDPŠimėnas
1Algirdas Saudargas
17 March 19902 December 1992LKDPVagnorius I
2Povilas Gylys
2 December 19924 December 1996LDDPLubys
2Povilas Gylys
2 December 19924 December 1996LDDPŠleževičius
2Povilas Gylys
2 December 19924 December 1996LDDPStankevičius
Algirdas Saudargas
4 December 199627 October 2000LKDPVagnorius II
Algirdas Saudargas
4 December 199627 October 2000LKDPPaksas I
Algirdas Saudargas
4 December 199627 October 2000LKDPKubilius I
3Antanas Valionis
27 October 20005 July 2006IndependentPaksas II
3Antanas Valionis
27 October 20005 July 2006NSBrazauskas I
3Antanas Valionis
27 October 20005 July 2006NSBrazauskas II
4Petras Vaitiekūnas
6 July 200628 November 2008IndependentKirkilas
5Vygaudas Ušackas
9 December 200826 January 2010IndependentKubilius II
6Audronius Ažubalis
11 February 201013 December 2012TS–LKDKubilius II
7Linas Antanas Linkevičius
13 December 2012IncumbentLSDPButkevičius
7Linas Antanas Linkevičius
13 December 2012IncumbentIndependentSkvernelis