Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen
Čmilytė-Nielsen in 2020

Speaker of the Seimas
In office 13 November 2020 – 14 November 2024
Preceded by	Viktoras Pranckietis
Succeeded by	Saulius Skvernelis
Leader of the Liberal Movement
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 September 2019
Preceded by	Eugenijus Gentvilas
Leader of the Opposition
In office 23 March 2019 – 10 September 2019
Preceded by	Andrius Kubilius
Succeeded by	Julius Sabatauskas
Member of the Seimas
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 November 2020
Preceded by	Mykolas Majauskas
Constituency	Senamiestis-Žvėrynas
In office 21 April 2015 – 12 November 2020
Preceded by	Remigijus Šimašius
Constituency	Multi-member

Personal details
Born	Viktorija Čmilytė (1983-08-06) 6 August 1983 (age 41) Šiauliai, Lithuania
Political party	Liberal Movement
Spouses	Alexei Shirov (m. 2001; div. 2007) Peter Heine Nielsen (m. 2013)
Children	4
Alma mater	University of Latvia (BA)
Chess career
Title	Grandmaster (2010)
FIDE rating	2538 (June 2025)
Peak rating	2542 (June 2017)

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen (born 6 August 1983) is a well-known Lithuanian politician and a chess Grandmaster. From 2020 to 2024, she served as the Speaker of the Seimas, which is like the leader of Lithuania's parliament. She earned the top chess title of Grandmaster in 2010. She also won the European women's chess championship in 2011 and has been the Lithuanian champion twice.

Čmilytė-Nielsen started her political journey in 2015. She joined the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, as a member of the Liberal Movement party. She was re-elected in 2016. Over time, she became more important in her party. In 2019, she became the leader of the opposition in the Seimas. Later that year, she was chosen to lead the Liberal Movement party. She led her party in the 2020 election, where they won 13 seats in parliament.

Early Life and School
Chess Achievements
- Team Chess Competitions
Political Journey
- Parliamentary Work
- Leading the Liberal Movement
Personal Details
Awards and Recognition
- National Awards
- International Awards
See also

Early Life and School

Viktorija Čmilytė was born in Šiauliai, a city in Lithuania. She started playing chess when she was six years old. Her father, Viktoras Čmilis, was her first chess coach. He was also in charge of the Šiauliai Chess Club.

After finishing school, Čmilytė moved to Riga, the capital of Latvia. She studied at the University of Latvia in the Faculty of Humanities. In 2007, she graduated with a degree in English philology, which is the study of the English language and literature.

Chess Achievements

Čmilytė's father guided her during her early chess years. In 1993, she won the European Youth Chess Championship for girls under 12. Two years later, in 1995, she won the World Youth Chess Championship in the same age group.

In 2000, when she was just sixteen, Čmilytė won both the women's and the main national championships of Lithuania. She beat several strong players to win the main championship. She won the main championship again in 2005 in her hometown.

She came in second place at the European Junior (Under-20) Girls Championship in 2000. By 2001, FIDE, the world chess organization, ranked her as the top girl chess player. That same year, she won a tournament called the Corus Reserve Group.

Čmilytė won silver medals at the European Women's Individual Championship in 2003, 2008, and 2010. She also won the European Women's Rapid Chess Championship in 2007. In 2010, she was given the prestigious Grandmaster title. This is the highest title a chess player can achieve. Finally, in 2011, Čmilytė won the gold medal at the European Women's Individual Championship.

Čmilytė took part in the Women's World Chess Championship several times. In 2000, she reached the third round. In 2004, she made it to the quarterfinals. In 2006, she reached the semifinals, which is a great achievement. She also competed in 2008, 2010, and 2015.

Team Chess Competitions

Čmilytė has represented Lithuania in many team chess events. She played for the Lithuanian team in the 2010 Chess Olympiad. She also played in other Women's Chess Olympiads. There, she won two individual gold medals for playing on the top board. She won in 2000 and again in 2004. She first joined the national team when she was only thirteen years old.

She has also played for a German team called OSC Baden Baden in the Frauenbundesliga (Women's Bundesliga). She has also played in chess leagues in Sweden.

Political Journey

Parliamentary Work

Čmilytė-Nielsen started her political career in 2015. She became a member of the Liberal Movement party. When Remigijus Šimašius left his seat in the Seimas (Lithuania's parliament) to become the mayor of Vilnius, Čmilytė-Nielsen took his place.

In 2016, Čmilytė-Nielsen ran for parliament again in the 2016 election. She was elected and began working on committees for European affairs and human rights. During this time, she gained more influence in her party. She served as a deputy leader of the Liberal Movement's group in parliament in 2017 and 2018. From 2018, she led the parliamentary group. In 2019, she became the leader of the opposition in the Seimas. This meant she was the main spokesperson for the parties that were against the government at the time. She later stepped down from this role. In September 2019, she was elected to lead the entire Liberal Movement party.

Leading the Liberal Movement

Čmilytė-Nielsen meeting Vice President of Taiwan Lai Ching-te during her visit to Taiwan (2023)

Čmilytė-Nielsen speaking at the Legislative Yuan (2023)

As the leader of the Liberal Movement, Čmilytė-Nielsen guided the party into the 2020 parliamentary election. Her party won 13 seats. After the election, it became clear that the Liberal Movement would form a new government with the Freedom Party and the Homeland Union, which won the most seats. They suggested Ingrida Šimonytė to be the new Prime Minister. Čmilytė-Nielsen was expected to be one of the three main leaders of this new government, along with Šimonytė and Freedom Party leader Aušrinė Armonaitė. This was exciting because it meant the government would be led by women, similar to the Marin Cabinet in Finland. On November 9, the three parties officially signed their agreement to form a coalition government.

On November 12, Čmilytė-Nielsen was chosen to become the speaker of the Seimas. The next day, she was elected as Speaker with 106 votes. She became the third woman to hold this important position in Lithuania's parliament.

Personal Details

Besides her native Lithuanian, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen also speaks English, Russian, and Spanish very well.

She was married to chess grandmaster Alexei Shirov from 2001 to 2007. In 2013, she married another chess grandmaster, Peter Heine Nielsen from Denmark. She has four children.