Vytautas Landsbergis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vytautas Landsbergis
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Landsbergis in 2023
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| Chairman of the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas | |
| In office 11 March 1990 – 25 November 1992 |
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| Preceded by | Post created
Antanas Smetona (in 1940, last legal President) |
| Succeeded by | Algirdas Brazauskas (as the Speaker of the Seimas and acting President of Lithuania) |
| Speaker of the Seimas | |
| In office 25 November 1996 – 19 October 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Česlovas Juršėnas |
| Succeeded by | Artūras Paulauskas |
| Chairman of the Homeland Union | |
| In office 1 May 1993 – 24 May 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Post created |
| Succeeded by | Andrius Kubilius |
| Member of the European Parliament for Lithuania |
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| In office 28 April 2003 – 30 June 2014 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 October 1932 Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Political party | Sąjūdis (1988–1993) Homeland Union (1993–present) |
| Spouse | Gražina Ručytė-Landsbergienė |
| Alma mater | Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (1955) |
| Signature |  |
Vytautas Landsbergis (Lithuanian: [ˈvʲîːtɐʊtɐs ˈɫɐ̂ˑnʲdzʲbʲɛrʲɡʲɪs]; born 18 October 1932) is a Lithuanian politician and former Member of the European Parliament. He was the first Speaker of Reconstituent Seimas of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union. He has written 20 books on a variety of topics, including a biography of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, as well as works on politics and music. He is a founding signatory of the Prague Declaration, and a member of the international advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
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Biography
Vytautas Landsbergis, member of an old German Landsberg family, was born in Kaunas, Lithuania. His father was the architect Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis. His mother, ophthalmologist Dr. Ona Jablonskytė-Landsbergienė, assisted her sister's family in sheltering a Jewish child, Avivit Kissin, from the Holocaust. She brought Kissin to her sister's home and produced a forged birth certificate with a Lithuanian for Kissin. Her sister and brother-in-law were named Righteous Among the Nations. Jablonskytė-Landsbergienė was also named as Righteous Among the Nations for her efforts to help hide a 16-year old Jewish girl named Bella Gurvich (later Rozenberg).
In 1952 he placed third in the Lithuanian chess championship, after Ratmir Kholmov and Vladas Mikėnas. In 1955, he graduated from the Lithuanian Conservatory of Music (now Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre). In 1969, he wrote his thesis for his PhD degree. In 1978, he became a professor at the Lithuanian Conservatory. From 1978 to 1990, he was a professor at both the Lithuanian Conservatory and the Vilnius Pedagogical University. In 1994, he wrote a thesis for his doctor habilitus degree.
Family
Landsbergis was married to Gražina Ručytė-Landsbergienė (1930–2020), who was a well-known Lithuanian pianist and associate Professor of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater. His daughters Jūratė and Birutė are also musicians. His son, Vytautas, is a well-known Lithuanian writer and film director. His grandson Gabrielius Landsbergis (b. 1982) is the current leader of the conservative party, a member of Lithuanian Parliament and Foreign Minister of Lithuania.
Political career
Landsbergis entered politics, in 1988, as one of the founders of Sąjūdis, the Lithuanian pro-independence political movement. In 1989 elections to the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union, Landsbergis was elected as one of the People's Deputies from Lithuanian SSR. After Sąjūdis' victory in the 1990 elections, he became the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania.
On 11 March 1990, he headed the Parliamentary session during which the restoration of Lithuanian independence from the Soviet Union was declared. Lithuania became the first Soviet Republic to do so. According to the Temporary Primary Law (de facto temporary Constitution, until the permanent Constitution comes to power) of Lithuania, Landsbergis was both: the highest officer of State and the Speaker of the Parliament. He held this post from March 1990 until the next elections in November 1992.
The Soviet Union attempted to stifle this activity by economic blockade in 1990, but it failed, and other Soviet Republics soon followed suit and declared their independence from Moscow, as well. He was also extremely dubious of the view that Mikhail Gorbachev was trying to liberalize the Soviet Union and that Lithuania should not prevent him from doing so. Landsbergis also played a crucial role during the confrontation between the Lithuanian independence movement and Soviet armed forces in January 1991. Iceland was the first state that officially recognized the restoration of Lithuanian independence; Landsbergis was somewhat critical of certain Western powers (such as the United States and United Kingdom) for not showing enough support in Lithuania's bid to restore its independence after more than 40 years of Soviet occupation, although he did accept the recommendation from his government that the newly independent Lithuania immediately seek to establish full diplomatic relations with the UK and US.
In 1993, Landsbergis led much of Sąjūdis into a new political party, the Homeland Union (Tėvynės Sąjunga). It gained a landslide victory in the 1996 parliamentary elections. Landsbergis served as Speaker of the Seimas from 1996 until 2000. He ran, although unsuccessfully, for president in 1997 (coming up the third after receiving 15.9% of the votes). During the runoff, he supported Valdas Adamkus, who had finished second in the first round. Adamkus eventually became president.
In 2004, Landsbergis was elected by Lithuanian voters to the European Parliament in Brussels (the total number of MEPs from Lithuania in Brussels was 13), and has been returned at every election until 2014.
In 2005, Landsbergis became an international patron of the newly formed Henry Jackson Society.
Since 2015 Landsbergis is together with Roswitha Fessler-Ketteler, MEP Heidi Hautala, Aleksi Malmberg and Frank Schwalba-Hoth member of the advisory board of the Caucasian Chamber Orchestra association and its German "Förderverein".
Attempt to ban Communist and Nazi insignia
In January 2005, Landsbergis, backed by Member of the European Parliament from Hungary Jozsef Szajer, urged that Communist symbols be banned in the European Union, in addition to Nazi symbols. He also sent a letter to Franco Frattini, the European Commissioner of Justice and Internal Affairs, suggesting that in case the EU decides to ban Nazi symbols, Communist symbols should be banned too. The Commissioner became interested in this proposal and said: I am ready to join this discussion. The Communist dictatorships no less than the Nazi ones are responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people. A bit later, however, the Commissioner decided that he would not attempt to ban any symbols, as there was no agreement as to which symbols should be banned.
Landsbergis's proposal caused quite a stir in Italy, where leftists strongly protested such a move. The Communist Refoundation Party and Party of Italian Communists were outraged at the proposal. It became the center of Italian media's attention. One of the most influential Italian dailies, La Repubblica, published an interview with Landsbergis outlining his proposal. It was the first time the daily allocated a full page to a politician from Lithuania.
Landsbergis's proposal found few supporters among Italian politicians. One was Alessandra Mussolini, a granddaughter of former Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who commented: "To implement the proposal of the Members of the European Parliament regarding Communist symbols is our moral duty".
Landsbergis's proposal was opposed by the Russian Parliament as well. The First Vicespeaker of the Russian State Duma called the proposal "abnormal". Another Russian MP, a communist, commented that "somebody in Europe became insolent and forgot who saved them from the fascists".
The debate came to an end when, in the beginning of February 2005, the European Commission rejected calls for a proposed Europe-wide ban on Nazi symbols to be extended to cover Communist Party symbols as well. Frattini said it would not be appropriate to include the red star and the hammer and sickle in a draft EU law on racism.
Finally, at the end of February 2005, the European Union dropped proposals to ban Nazi symbols across its 25 member states. Luxembourg withdrew the plan when it became clear that members could not reach a consensus on which symbols to ban. There were also concerns that the proposed ban was a threat to freedom of expression.
Landsbergis is a fierce critic of Russia's intentions to impose any kind of influence on the Baltic states and publicly questions Russia's actions vis-à-vis the Baltic States on both local and international media, as well as in the European Parliament. He warns that Russia might have intentions to control Lithuania and the other Baltic States economically and politically through a wide network of former KGB agents and other clandestine activities. Landsbergis is one of the most active politicians who urge Russia to compensate Lithuania and other post-Soviet republics for damage done to them during their occupations.
Honours and awards
Honours
National honours
Lithuania: Former Grand Master Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Vytautas the Great- Lithuania: Former Grand Master Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Vytis
- Lithuania: Former Grand Master Grand Cross of the Order of Grand Duke Gediminas
Foreign honours
Estonia: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
France: Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour- France: Grand Cross of the Order of La Pléiade
Saxony: Recipient of the Saxon Constitutional Medal
Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of Honour
Latvia: Grand Officer of the Order of the Three Stars
Luxembourg: Recipient of the European Medal of Merit
Malta: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of Obedience of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Norway: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
Poland: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
Romanian Royal Family: Extra Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
Awards
- Foreign Awards
- European People's Party: Recipient of the Robert Schuman Medal
- France: Foundation du Futur Award
Germany Hermann Ehlers Prize
Italy: Vibo Valentia Testimony Prize- Norway: Norwegian People's Peace Prize
Philippines: Gusi Peace Prize
Spain: Ramon Llull International Prize
UNESCO: Recipient of the Medal for Contribution in Democracy and the Fight for Human Rights
United States: Recipient of the Presidents Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
United Kingdom: International Freedom Foundation Award
Honorary doctorates
Landsbergis has received honorary doctorates from the following institutions:
- United States: Loyola University, Chicago (1991)
- Lithuania: Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas (1992)
- United States: Weber State University, Ogden, Utah 1992)
- United States: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (1992)
- Lithuania: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (1998)
- Lithuania: University of Law (2000)
Finland: Helsinki University (2000)
Wales: Cardiff University (2000)- France: Sorbonne (2001)
- Lithuania: Art Academy (2003)
See also
In Spanish: Vytautas Landsbergis para niños
