Mounted knight known as Vytis (the Chaser), white stork; national colors: yellow, green, red.
Title | "Tautiska giesme" (The National Song) |
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Lyric/music | Vincas KUDIRKA |
Date of Independence | 16 February 1918 (from Soviet Russia and Germany); 11 March 1990 (declared from the Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 6 July 1253 (coronation of MINDAUGAS, traditional founding date); 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created) |
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National holiday | Independence Day (or National Day), 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania established its statehood and its concomitant independence from Soviet Russia and Germany; 11 March 1990 was the date it declared the restoration of Lithuanian statehood and its concomitant independence from the Soviet Union |
Legal system | civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the Constitutional Court |
International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
Constitution | |
History | Several previous; latest adopted by referendum 25 October 1992, entered into force 2 November 1992 |
Amendments | Proposed by at least one fourth of all Parliament members or by petition of at least 300,000 voters; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Parliament in each of two readings three months apart and a presidential signature; amendments to constitutional articles on national sovereignty and constitutional amendment procedure also require three-fourths voter approval in a referendum; amended many times, last in 2022 |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | no |
Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of Lithuania |
Dual citizenship recognized | no |
Residency requirement for naturalization | 10 years |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | President Gitanas NAUSEDA (since 12 July 2019) |
Head of government | Prime Minister Ingrida SIMONYTE (since 24 November 2020) |
Cabinet | Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president, approved by Parliament |
Elections/appointments | president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); first round of the election held on 12 May 204 (runoff to be held on 12 May 2024); prime minister appointed by the president, approved by Parliament |
Election results | 2024: Gitanas NAUSEDA elected president in the second round; percent of vote -Gitanas NAUSEDA (independent) 74.6%, Ingrida SIMONYTE (independent) 24.4% 2019: Gitanas NAUSEDA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Gitanas NAUSEDA (independent) 66.7%, Ingrida SIMONYTE (independent) 33.3% |
Legislative branch | |
Description | Unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats; 71 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote and 70 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms) |
Elections | Last held on 13 October 2024 first round (next to be held on 27 October 2024 - second round) |
Election results | Preliminary first-round results percent of vote by party - LSDP 19.4%, TS-LKD 18%, NA 15%, DSVL 9.2%, LRLS 7.7%, LVZS 7%, LLRA-KSS 6%; seats by party - LSDP 20, TS-LKD 18, NA 15, DSVL 8, LRLS 8, LVZS 6, LLRA-KSS 2, Independents 1 |
Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | Supreme Court (consists of 37 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges) |
Judge selection and term of office | Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Seimas; judges serve 5-year renewable terms; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the Seimas from nominations - 3 each by the president of the republic, the Seimas speaker, and the Supreme Court president; judges serve 9-year, nonrenewable terms; one-third of membership reconstituted every 3 years |
Subordinate courts | Court of Appeals; district and local courts |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Audra PLEPYTÄ– (since 7 July 2021) |
Chancery | 2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 |
Telephone | [1] (202) 234-5860 |
FAX | [1] (202) 328-0466 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://usa.mfa.lt/usa/en/ |
Consulate(s) general | Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Kara C. McDONALD (since 26 January 2024) |
Embassy | Akmenu gatve 6, Vilnius, LT-03106 |
Mailing address | 4510 Vilnius Place, Washington DC 20521-4510 |
Telephone | [370] (5) 266-5500 |
FAX | [370] (5) 266-5510 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://lt.usembassy.gov/ |
National heritage | |
Total World Heritage Sites | 5 (all cultural) |
Selected World Heritage Site locales | Vilnius Historic Center; Curonian Spit; KernavÄ— Archaeological Site; Struve Geodetic Arc; Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939 |
Want to know more about Lithuania? Check all different factbooks for Lithuania below.