Rolandas Paksas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rolandas Paksas
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Paksas in 2018
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| 6th President of Lithuania | |
| In office 26 February 2003 – 6 April 2004 |
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| Prime Minister | Algirdas Brazauskas |
| Preceded by | Valdas Adamkus |
| Succeeded by | Artūras Paulauskas (Acting) |
| Member of European Parliament | |
| In office 4 June 2009 – 1 July 2019 |
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| 9th and 11th Prime Minister of Lithuania | |
| In office 26 October 2000 – 20 June 2001 |
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| President | Valdas Adamkus |
| Preceded by | Andrius Kubilius |
| Succeeded by | Eugenijus Gentvilas (Acting) |
| In office 18 May 1999 – 27 October 1999 |
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| President | Valdas Adamkus |
| Preceded by | Irena Degutienė (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Irena Degutienė (Acting) |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 12 July 2001 – 1 November 2001 |
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| Succeeded by | Gintaras Steponavičius (interim) |
| Member of the Seimas | |
| In office 19 October 2000 – 15 February 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Aloyzas Sakalas |
| Succeeded by | Andrius Kubilius |
| Constituency | Antakalnis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 June 1956 Telšiai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union (now Lithuania) |
| Political party | Communist Party of Lithuania (1983~1989) Democratic Labour Party (1989–1995) Homeland Union (1995–1999) Liberal Union (1999–2002) Order and Justice (2002~2003, 2004–2018) Independent (2003~2004, 2018–present) |
| Spouse | Laima Paksienė |
| Alma mater | Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Leningrad Civil Aviation Academy |
| Profession | Pilot, Politician, Businessman, Engineer. |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Lithuania |
| Branch/service | .png){kind=small} National Defence Volunteer Forces |
| Rank |  Major |
Rolandas Paksas (born 10 June 1956) is a Lithuanian politician. He was the sixth President of Lithuania from 2003 to 2004. He was removed from this job in April 2004.
Before becoming president, he was the Prime Minister of Lithuania twice. He also served as the Mayor of Vilnius, the capital city. Later, he was a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2019.
Rolandas Paksas was a national champion in aerobatics (fancy flying) in the 1980s. After the Soviet Union ended, he started his own construction company. He then began his career in politics.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Rolandas Paksas was born in Telšiai, Lithuania. His parents were Feliksas and Elena. He finished high school in 1974.
He studied civil engineering at the Vilnius Civil Engineering Institute. He earned his degree in 1979. In 1984, he also graduated from the Leningrad Civil Aviation Academy. During these years, he was a talented pilot. He competed in aerobatics and won several championships.
From 1992 to 1997, before becoming a full-time politician, Rolandas Paksas was the head of a construction company called "Restako."
Political Career
Becoming Mayor and Prime Minister
Rolandas Paksas started his political journey in the early 1990s. He first joined a left-leaning party. In 1995, he changed to a more conservative party called the Homeland Union. This was a big change in his political path.
In 1997, he was elected to the Vilnius City Council. Soon after, he became the Mayor of Vilnius. He held this job until 1999.
In May 1999, Rolandas Paksas was chosen to be the Prime Minister of Lithuania. This happened after the previous Prime Minister resigned. His party and its allies had enough votes in the parliament (Seimas) to support him.
Paksas became Prime Minister in June 1999. However, his time in this job was short, lasting only five months. He resigned in October 1999. This was because of a disagreement about selling a large oil company called Mažeikių Nafta. After he resigned, he worked as a special helper to the President.
Later, Paksas joined a different party, the Liberal Union of Lithuania. In April 2000, he became the Mayor of Vilnius again. Then, in November 2000, he became Prime Minister for a second time. This term lasted until June 2001. His second time as Prime Minister also ended due to disagreements within the government.
In March 2002, Paksas started his own political party, the Liberal Democratic Party. He wanted to be seen as a leader who would bring new ideas and changes to Lithuania.
President of Lithuania
Winning the Presidency
On 5 January 2003, Rolandas Paksas was elected as President of Lithuania. This was a big surprise because he won against the person who was already president, Valdas Adamkus. In the first round of voting, Paksas was second. But in the final vote, he won with 54.9% of the votes.
His campaign promised to help people who were struggling. He also promised to fight against corruption and make the economy better.
Time in Office and Removal
Paksas became president on 26 February 2003. However, his time as president soon faced problems. There were claims that he had close ties to a Russian businessman named Yury Borisov. This businessman had given a lot of money to Paksas's election campaign.
It was found that Paksas had given Borisov Lithuanian citizenship very quickly. This was done by a special order from the president. Later, Lithuania's highest court said this was against the country's rules.
Because of these concerns, the parliament (Seimas) started a special process to remove Paksas from his job. On 31 March 2004, the Constitutional Court of Lithuania said that Paksas had broken the Constitution of Lithuania and his promise as president.
On 6 April 2004, the Seimas voted to remove Rolandas Paksas from office. They voted on three main reasons: giving citizenship improperly, sharing secret information, and getting involved in a business deal in a wrong way. The vote passed, and Paksas was removed from his job. He was the first head of state in Europe to be removed from office in this way.
After Being Removed from Office
After he was removed, Paksas wanted to run for president again. However, a new rule was made that stopped people who had been removed from office from running for president for five years. Later, the Constitutional Court said that people who break the Constitution or their oath can never hold public jobs that require an oath.
Years later, in 2011, the European Court of Human Rights said that stopping Paksas from ever running for parliament was too harsh. This decision led to more discussions in Lithuania about changing their laws. In April 2022, the Lithuanian Parliament changed the Constitution. This new rule allows people who were removed from office to run for parliament again after ten years. This means Paksas can now run for parliament.
Later Political Work
From 2009 to 2019, Rolandas Paksas served as a Member of the European Parliament. He worked on different issues during this time. After leaving that job, he mostly stepped back from active politics.
His time as president is still talked about in Lithuania. Many people see his removal from office as a very important moment for how leaders are held responsible in Lithuania.
Personal Life
Rolandas Paksas is married to Laima Paksienė. They have two children, Inga and Mindaugas.
He is a very skilled pilot. He was part of both the Soviet and Lithuanian national aerobatic teams. He still performs amazing stunts in planes around the world.
In 2006, Rolandas Paksas flew a plane around the world. This trip lasted 47 days and started and ended at the Kyviškės airfield in Lithuania.
Images for kids
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Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces insignia
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Major rank insignia
See also
In Spanish: Rolandas Paksas para niños
