Rolandas Paksas

Rolandas Paksas ((born 10 June 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the sixth president of Lithuania from 2003 until his impeachment in April 2004. He previously served two terms as the prime minister of Lithuania in 1999, and again from 2000 to 2001, and as Mayor of Vilnius from 1997 to 1999 and again from 2000 to 2001. He led Order and Justice from 2004 to 2016 and was a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2019.

In 1974, he finished Zemaites High School and continued studies at the Vilnius Civil Engineering Institute (now Vilnius Gediminas Technical University).

Paksas received a degree in civil engineering in 1979.

A national aerobatics champion in the 1980s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Paksas founded a construction company, Restako.

In 1984, he graduated Leningrad Civil Aviation Academy.

During this period, he competed in aerobatics competitions, participating in both Soviet and Lithuanian teams and winning several championships.

From 1992 to 1997, Rolandas Paksas was the President of the construction company "Restako".

Paksas, a former member of Communist Party of Lithuania (LKP) and its successor leftist Democratic Labour Party (LDDP) in 1995 switched his political orientation in favour of conservative right Homeland Union (Lithuanian Conservatives).

In 1997, he was elected to Vilnius City Council for the centre-right Homeland Union and became mayor.

In 1997, Paksas was elected to Vilnius City Council and became Mayor of Vilnius.

Paksas also served as chairman of the Vilnius branch of the Homeland Union (Lithuanian Conservatives).

In May 1999, Paksas was appointed Prime Minister, but resigned five months later after a disagreement over privatisation.

In May 1999, Vagnorius stepped down and President Valdas Adamkus asked Paksas to become the Prime Minister.

The Conservatives had 68 of the Seimas' 138 seats and were part of an 81-member coalition with the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party.

In June 1999, he became Prime Minister, heading the ninth Government after independence.

Five months later, he resigned because of a disagreement over the sale of Mažeikių Nafta, a major Lithuanian oil refining company, to a US oil company.

He then served as Special Assignments envoy to Adamkus.

Paksas joined the Liberal Union of Lithuania (LLS) in 2000.

The LLS won the 2000 election, and Paksas became PM again, but he left within seven months after another dispute over economic reforms.

After leaving Homeland Union, Paksas joined Liberal Union of Lithuania and in April 2000, he became Mayor of Vilnius again.

In 2000, he was elected as the Prime Minister in the eleventh Cabinet and served from November 2000 to June 2001.

In 2002, Paksas founded the Liberal Democratic Party, and ran for the presidency, winning the run-off against incumbent Valdas Adamkus in January 2003.

In March 2002, Paksas was elected as a chairman of his newly founded Liberal Democratic Party.

On 5 January 2003, he was elected President of Lithuania, after a surprise win over the incumbent Valdas Adamkus in a runoff.

In the first round of elections, Paksas finished second with 19.7% of vote but, in the runoff, he gathered 54.9%.

His platform included pledges to reduce poverty and income disparities, fight corruption, introduce the death penalty for drug traffickers, and move Lithuania towards a more market-based economy.

On 26 February 2003 his term as President began.

During his term, concerns arose that he had ties to the Russian mafia.

Yuri Borisov (businessman), president of the aviation company Avia Baltika, had donated $400,000 to his campaign, and was given Lithuanian citizenship by Paksas' decree.

This decree was later ruled to be unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Lithuania.

Paksas' connections were investigated by the State Security Department of Lithuania.

It emerged that he had granted citizenship to a major campaign donor, leading to his impeachment and removal from office in April 2004.

He was the first European head of state to have been impeached.

In early 2004, the Seimas started impeachment proceedings against him.

Barred from the Seimas, Paksas was elected to the European Parliament in 2009, while leading his party, now called Order and Justice (TT).

His lifetime ban from the parliament was ruled to be disproportionate measure by the European Court of Human Rights in 2011.

In 2018 the amendment which would allow for Paksas to run for parliamentary seat is to be submitted.

But he will not be allowed to run for president or become the speaker of the Parliament.

He is considered to be the worst President of Lithuania in modern history.

Paksas was born in Telšiai to Feliksas and Elena.