List of rulers of Lithuania

The following is a list of rulers over Lithuania (grand dukes, a king and presidents), the heads of authority over historical Lithuanian territory. The timeline includes Lithuania as a sovereign entity or legitimately part of a greater sovereign entity, as well as Lithuania under control or occupation of an outside authority (i.e. Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic). The incumbents and office-holders are listed by names most commonly used in English language. Where appropriate, the alternatives in Lithuanian, Ruthenian (later Belarusian) and Polish are included.

The state of Lithuania was formed in the 1230s: when threatened by the Livonian Order in the north and the Teutonic Knights in the west, the Baltic tribes united under the leadership of Mindaugas. He became the only crowned king of Lithuania. His state became known as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After Grand Duke Jogaila became also king of Poland in 1386, the two states became more closely connected, and from 1440 both were ruled by a common ruler. In 1569 the Union of Lublin was signed and a new entity—the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth—emerged. The commonwealth was partitioned in 1795 and Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire until 16 February 1918. The Council of Lithuania was able to establish the country's sovereignty only in 1919, after the end of World War I. The first republic of Lithuania existed until 1940, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union. During the Soviet-German War, Lithuania was occupied by Nazi Germany. In 1944, as Germany was losing the war, Russia re-occupied Lithuania and established the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare independence. The restored Republic of Lithuania is a democratic republic, a member of both the European Union and NATO.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1236–1569)[]

Title: Grand Duke (Lithuanian: didysis kunigaikštis; Belarusian: vialiki kniaź; Polish: wielki książę) except for Mindaugas, who became king of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos karalius).

House of Mindaugas (1236–1268)[]

Dates are approximate because of scant written sources.

Term	Grand Duke	Image	Remarks
c. 1236–1263	Mindaugas		Initially Grand Duke, from 1253 King of Lithuania. After he was killed by his nephew Treniota, a war between nobles for power erupted.
1263–1265	Treniota		Grand Duke 1263–1264 nephew of Mindaugas
1265–1268	Vaišvilkas		Son of Mindaugas, voluntarily gave up the throne in favour of his brother-in-law Švarnas.

Monomakhovichi (1268–1269)[]

Term	Grand Duke	Image	Remarks
1268–1269	Švarnas

House of Mindaugas (1269–1285)[]

Term	Grand Duke	Image	Remarks
1270–1282	Traidenis
1282–1285	Daumantas

House of Gediminas (1285–1440)[]

Some dates are approximate.

Term	Grand Duke	Image	Remarks
1285–1291	Butigeidis		Founder of the Gediminid dynasty
1291–1295	Butvydas		Brother of Butigeidis, father of Vytenis and Gediminas
1295–1316	Vytenis		Son of Butvydas
1316–1341	Gediminas		Son of Butvydas. After his death, the domain was divided between his seven sons.
1341–1345	Jaunutis		Son of Gediminas. Overlord and Grand Duke, deposed by his brothers Algirdas and Kęstutis.
1345–1377	Algirdas		Son of Gediminas. His co-ruler was Kęstutis, who was active in the west. Algirdas was mostly active in the east.
1377–1381	Jogaila		Son of Algirdas. Crowned the King of Poland in 1386 and established the personal union of Lithuania and Poland. Founder of the House of Jogailaičiai.
1381–1382	Kęstutis		Son of Gediminas, co-ruler with Algirdas. Kęstutis ruled western Lithuania (with its capital in Trakai). He deposed Jogaila in 1381 and took control of the whole of Lithuania, only to be captured and killed by him the next year.
1382–1392	Jogaila		Also King of Poland 1386–1434. His governor in Lithuania was Skirgaila (1387–1392).
1392–1430	Vytautas the Great		Son of Kęstutis. He joined his father in the fight against Jogaila, then changed sides and became Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1392. He was to be crowned King of Lithuania in 1429, but the crown intended for him was seized at Polish-German border by the Poles. He died before the second crown arrived.
1430–1432	Švitrigaila		Son of Algirdas, brother of Jogaila. Deposed by followers of Žygimantas, son of Kęstutis.
1432–1440	Sigismund Kęstutaitis		Son of Kęstutis, brother of Vytautas. Killed by Švitrigaila's supporters.

House of Jagiellon (1440–1569)[]

The act of personal union with Poland was signed as early as 1385; however, the continuous line of common rulers of the two countries started only with Casimir IV (even then, Polish and Lithuanians twice selected different rulers following the death of an earlier common monarch, but the Lithuanian one always eventually assumed the Polish throne). The monarchs retained separate titles for both parts of the state, and their numbering was kept separate. The Jagiellon dynasty was a direct continuation of the Gediminids.

Term	Grand Duke	Image	Remarks
1440–1492	Casimir IV Jagiellon		Son of Jogaila. Elected and crowned King of Poland in 1447 after the death of king Władysław III of Poland
1492–1506	Alexander I		Son of Casimir IV. Elected and crowned King of Poland in 1501 after the death of king John I Albert
1506–1548	Sigismund I the Old		Son of Casimir IV.
1548–1569	Sigismund II Augustus		Son of Sigismund I the Old. De facto ruler since 1529.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)[]

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was established by the Union of Lublin in 1569. The elected King of Poland was automatically a Grand Duke of Lithuania (until then the Lithuanian dukedom was hereditary). The first common ruler of both countries was Sigismund II Augustus. Following the partitions in 1772, 1793, and 1795, the commonwealth ceased to exist and Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire for 123 years. There are some gaps in the timeline as it took a while to elect a new king. The first Grand Duke elected after the Gediminid line became extinct and after the Valois fled back to France was Stephen Báthory, who had made an effort to be recognized as Grand Duke of Lithuania by establishing Vilnius University.

Title: King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Lithuanian: Lenkijos karalius ir Lietuvos didysis kunigaikštis

Polish: Król Polski, wielki książę litewski

Latin: Rex Poloniae et Magnus Dux Lituaniae

Term	Grand Duke	Image	House	Remarks
1569–1572	Sigismund II Augustus		Jagiellon	Son of Sigismund I the Old.
1573–1575	Henry of Valois		Valois	He abandoned the throne and fled to France, where he was crowned as King Henry III.
1575- 1586/1596 [which?]	Anna Jagiellon		Jagiellon	Daughter of Sigismund I the Old.
1576–1586	Stephen Báthory		Báthory	Received the title jure uxoris since he was married to Anna Jagiellon; Báthory
1588–1632	Sigismund III Vasa		Vasa	Proponent of a personal union between The Commonwealth and Sweden, King of Sweden between 1592 and 1599.
1632–1648	Władysław IV Vasa
1648–1668	John II Casimir Vasa			Abdicated and became a monk, last of the Vasa dynasty in Poland-Lithuania.
1669–1673	Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki		Lithuanian nobility
1674–1696	John III Sobieski		Polish szlachta
1697–1706	Augustus II the Strong		Wettin	Also Elector of Saxony as Frederick Augustus I.
1706–1709	Stanisław I Leszczyński		Polish szlachta	Great Northern War
1709–1733	Augustus II the Strong		Wettin	2nd reign Also Elector of Saxony as Frederick Augustus I.
1733–1736	Stanisław I Leszczyński		Polish szlachta	2nd reign War of Polish Succession
1733–1763	August III		Wettin
1764–1795	Stanisław II August		Polish szlachta	During his reign the merger of the Grand Duchy with the Kingdom of Poland was passed in 1791; abdicated following the Partitions of Poland; died in exile in Russia.

Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)[]

The Council of Lithuania declared independence on 16 February 1918 and invited Wilhelm of Urach to become king of Lithuania. The name of the state was the Kingdom of Lithuania. On 9 July 1918, Duke Wilhelm accepted the offer and took the name Mindaugas II. However, on 2 November the council revoked this decision as it was likely Germany would lose the war.

Term	Incumbent	Image	House	Remarks
11 July – 2 November 1918	Mindaugas II (Wilhelm Karl)		House of Urach	Government change to a democratic republic.

State of Lithuania (1918–1920)[]

State of Lithuania was ruled by the Presidium of the State Council of Lithuania, its chairman was de facto Head of State. Institution of Presidium of the State Council of Lithuania was changed into President's^{[clarification needed]} on 4 April 1919. Chairman of the Presidium Antanas Smetona was elected as First President of the State of Lithuania by the State Council of Lithuania.

No	Term	President	Image	Remarks
-	2 November 1918 – 4 April 1919	Antanas Smetona		President of the Presidium of the Council of Lithuania.
1	4 April 1919 – 19 June 1920			Elected as the President of Lithuania by the Council of Lithuania.

Republic of Lithuania (1920–1940)[]

The institution of President (Lithuanian: Prezidentas) was created on 4 April 1919.

No	Term	President	Image	Remarks
2	19 June 1920 – 7 June 1926	Aleksandras Stulginskis		Acting President (as Constituent Assembly). Reelected by the Seimas on 21 December 1922 and in June 1923.
3	7 June – 18 December 1926	Kazys Grinius		Elected by Parliament, but overthrown by a military coup d'état.
-	18–19 December 1926	Jonas Staugaitis		Formally, for one day, as the head of Seimas (renounced the office after the coup d'état).
-	19 December 1926	Aleksandras Stulginskis		Formally, as the new head of Seimas, only for several hours.[Is this notable?]
(1)	19 December 1926 – 15 June 1940	Antanas Smetona		Second term, elected president after a military coup d'état. After the Soviet ultimatum of 1940, Smetona travelled to Germany, then to Switzerland and then to the United States. He did not sign any Soviet-given documents, unlike Latvian and Estonian Presidents who did so under duress, to legitimize the occupation of Lithuania and upon leaving he hoped to form a government in exile. In the United States, he was active in public and sought to unite the Lithuanian Americans and all other Lithuanians abroad to call attention to Lithuania's occupation until his death in 1944.[1]
-	15–17 June 1940	Antanas Merkys		The Prime Minister, de facto acting president after Smetona's departure. Not recognised by Lithuanian diplomats abroad; he assumed the role of president illegally, as Smetona had neither resigned nor died.
-	17 June – August 1940	Justas Paleckis		Chosen unconstitutionally by leaders of the Lithuanian communists under pressure from the Soviet Union, not recognized internationally nor by the Lithuanian diplomatic service.[2]
-	16 February 1949 – 26 November 1954	Jonas Žemaitis		Officially named as the fourth (acting) President of Lithuania in March 2009.[3]
-	26 November 1954 – 29 November 1957	Adolfas Ramanauskas		Officially named as the Head of State in November 2018.[4]

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1941 and 1944–1990)[]

The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania and established the Lithuanian SSR in July 1940. As Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Lithuania was occupied by the Germans. For a few days before the German occupation, Lithuania was ruled by pro-German rebel government of Juozas Ambrazevičius. Under the Germans, the General District of Lithuania was governed by the administration of general Petras Kubiliūnas. As Nazi Germany retreated, the Soviet Union reoccupied the country and reestablished the Lithuanian SSR in 1944.

Title: First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos komunistų partijos Centro komiteto pirmasis sekretorius; Russian: Первый секретарь Центрального Комитета Коммунистической партии Литвы).

No	Term	First Secretary	Remarks
1	21 July 1940 – 24 June 1941 13 July 1944 – 22 January 1974	Antanas Sniečkus
2	18 February 1974 – 14 November 1987	Petras Griškevičius
3	1 December 1987 – 19 October 1988	Ringaudas Bronislovas Songaila	First leader of the party to be deposed of his power (Sniečkus and Griškevičius held office until their death)
4	19 October 1988 – 11 March 1990	Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas	Lost power as independence was declared

The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet acted as a collective head of state from 25 August 1940 to 11 March 1990.

	Term	Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet	Remarks
1	25 August 1940 – 14 April 1967	Justas Paleckis	In exile in Russian SFSR 1941–1944
2	14 April 1967 – 24 December 1975	Motiejus Šumauskas
3	24 December 1975 – 18 November 1985
4	18 November 1985 – 7 December 1987	Ringaudas Songaila
5	7 December 1987 – 15 January 1990	Vytautas Astrauskas
6	15 January 1990 – 11 March 1990	Algirdas Brazauskas

Republic of Lithuania (1990–present)[]

The leader of the Supreme Council was the official head of state from the declaration of independence on 11 March 1990 until the new Constitution came into effect in 1992 establishing the office of President and the institution of Seimas. The state and its leadership were not recognized internationally until September 1991 [NB: Iceland was the first country to recognise the regained independence of Lithuania in February 1991.^[5]

Title from 1990 to 1992: Chairman of the Supreme Council (Parliament; Lithuanian: Aukščiausiosios Tarybos pirmininkas). Title from 1992 onwards: President (Lithuanian: prezidentas).

No	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Took office	Left office	Political party	Affiliation/Notes
-		Vytautas Landsbergis (born 1932)	–	11 March 1990	25 November 1992	Sąjūdis	As Chairman of the Supreme Council.
Speaker of the Seimas Algirdas Brazauskas served as acting President from 25 November 1992 to 25 February 1993.
1		Algirdas Brazauskas (1932–2010)	1993	25 February 1993	25 February 1998	Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania	First president of the Republic of Lithuania
2		Valdas Adamkus (born 1926)	1997–98	26 February 1998	26 February 2003	Independent
3		Rolandas Paksas (born 1956)	2002–03	26 February 2003	6 April 2004	Order and Justice	Impeached and removed from office.
Speaker of the Seimas Artūras Paulauskas served as acting President from 6 April to 12 July 2004.
(2)		Valdas Adamkus (born 1926)	2004	12 July 2004	12 July 2009	Independent
4		Dalia Grybauskaitė (born 1956)	2009 2014	12 July 2009	12 July 2019	Independent	First female President of Lithuania. Became the first President to be reelected.
5		Gitanas Nausėda (born 1964)	2019	12 July 2019	Incumbent	Independent

See also[]

• List of Lithuanian consorts
• List of early Lithuanian dukes

References[]

• History, Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved 26 August 2006.
• (in Lithuanian) Vytautas Spečiūnas (ed.), Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.) (Rulers of Lithuania (13–18th centuries)), Mokslo ir enicklopedijų leidybos institutas, Vilnius 2004. ISBN 5-420-01535-8

External links[]

• Another list of Lithuanian rulers