Aleksandras Stulginskis
Encyclopedia
Aleksandras Stulginskis (born (February 26, 1885 in Kutaliai, in Šilalė district municipality
near Tauragė
, Lithuania
, Russian Empire
; died September 22, 1969 in Kaunas
) was the second President of Lithuania (1920–1926). Stulginskis was also acting President
of Lithuania
for a few hours later in 1926, following a military coup that was led by his predecessor as President (Antanas Smetona
) and which had brought down Stulginskis' successor, Kazys Grinius
. The coup returned Smetona to office after Stulginskis' brief formal assumption of the Presidency.
He began his theological studies in Kaunas
and continued in Innsbruck
, Austria. However, he decided not to become a priest and moved to the Institute of Agricultural Science
s in University of Halle. He graduated in 1913 and returned to Lithuania
. There he started to work as a farmer. He published many articles on agronomy
in Lithuanian press. In 1918 he started to publish journals Ūkininkas ("Farmer") and Ūkininko kalendorius ("Farmer's Calendar").
During World War I
he moved to Vilnius
. He was one of the founders of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party and the head of its Central Committee in 1917. He signed the memorandum for the president Woodrow Wilson
, addressing the question of the recognition of the Lithuanian statehood by the U.S.
. Contrary to the Antanas Smetona
's views, Stulginskis was oriented towards the Entente
. He was one of co-organizers of the Vilnius Conference
. After, he was elected to the Council of Lithuania
.
On February 16, 1918 he signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania
. He was an advocate of the democratic republic as the form of the Lithuanian state. Thus, he strongly opposed the idea of monarchy (actually, Mindaugas II was the King of Lithuania from 11 July to 2 November 1918). In independent Lithuania Stulginskis was in charge of organizing the national army to defend the country against the aggressions of Bolshevik
s and Poles.
Many times served as a minister, May 1920-1922 he was Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania
and thus acting president of the republic. 1922-1926 he was the second President of Lithuania. Stulginskis was Speaker of the Seimas 1926-1927.
He withdrew from politics in 1927, and worked on his farm. In 1941 Stulginskis and his wife were arrested by the Soviet NKVD
and deported to a gulag
in the Krasnoyarsk
region, while his wife was deported to the Komi
area. After World War II
in 1952 he was officially sentenced by the Soviet authorities to 25 years in prison for his anti-socialist and clerical policies in pre-war Lithuania.
Released after Joseph Stalin
's death in 1956, he was allowed to emigrate, yet he refused and returned to Lithuanian SSR
. Stulginskis settled in Kaunas
, where he died on September 22, 1969, aged 84.
Šilale district municipality
Šilalė district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania....
near Tauragė
Taurage
Tauragė is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2011, its population was 26,444. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and not far from the Baltic Sea coast....
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
; died September 22, 1969 in Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
) was the second President of Lithuania (1920–1926). Stulginskis was also acting President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
for a few hours later in 1926, following a military coup that was led by his predecessor as President (Antanas Smetona
Antanas Smetona
Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from April 4, 1919 to June 19, 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from December 19, 1926 to June 15, 1940, before...
) and which had brought down Stulginskis' successor, Kazys Grinius
Kazys Grinius
Kazys Grinius was the third President of Lithuania, and held that office from 7 June 1926 to 17 December 1926.When Grinius was born in Selema, near Marijampolė, Lithuania was part of the Russian empire. He studied medicine at the University of Moscow and became a physician...
. The coup returned Smetona to office after Stulginskis' brief formal assumption of the Presidency.
He began his theological studies in Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
and continued in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, Austria. However, he decided not to become a priest and moved to the Institute of Agricultural Science
Agricultural science
Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. -Agriculture and agricultural science:The two terms are often confused...
s in University of Halle. He graduated in 1913 and returned to Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. There he started to work as a farmer. He published many articles on agronomy
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
in Lithuanian press. In 1918 he started to publish journals Ūkininkas ("Farmer") and Ūkininko kalendorius ("Farmer's Calendar").
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he moved to Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. He was one of the founders of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party and the head of its Central Committee in 1917. He signed the memorandum for the president Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, addressing the question of the recognition of the Lithuanian statehood by the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Contrary to the Antanas Smetona
Antanas Smetona
Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from April 4, 1919 to June 19, 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from December 19, 1926 to June 15, 1940, before...
's views, Stulginskis was oriented towards the Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
. He was one of co-organizers of the Vilnius Conference
Vilnius Conference
The Vilnius Conference or Vilnius National Conference met between September 18, 1917 and September 22, 1917, and began the process of establishing a Lithuanian state based on ethnic identity and language that would be independent of the Russian Empire, Poland, and the German Empire...
. After, he was elected to the Council of Lithuania
Council of Lithuania
The Council of Lithuania , after July 11, 1918 The State Council of Lithuania , was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between September 18 and 23, 1917. The council was granted the executive authority of the Lithuanian people and was entrusted to establish an independent...
.
On February 16, 1918 he signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania
Act of Independence of Lithuania
The Act of Independence of Lithuania or Act of February 16 was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty...
. He was an advocate of the democratic republic as the form of the Lithuanian state. Thus, he strongly opposed the idea of monarchy (actually, Mindaugas II was the King of Lithuania from 11 July to 2 November 1918). In independent Lithuania Stulginskis was in charge of organizing the national army to defend the country against the aggressions of Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s and Poles.
Many times served as a minister, May 1920-1922 he was Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania
Constituent Assembly of Lithuania
The Constituent Assembly of Lithuania was democratically elected in 1920 to draft and adopt the 1922 constitution of Lithuania.- Historical background :...
and thus acting president of the republic. 1922-1926 he was the second President of Lithuania. Stulginskis was Speaker of the Seimas 1926-1927.
He withdrew from politics in 1927, and worked on his farm. In 1941 Stulginskis and his wife were arrested by the Soviet NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
and deported to a gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
in the Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...
region, while his wife was deported to the Komi
Komi Republic
The Komi Republic is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain...
area. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1952 he was officially sentenced by the Soviet authorities to 25 years in prison for his anti-socialist and clerical policies in pre-war Lithuania.
Released after Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's death in 1956, he was allowed to emigrate, yet he refused and returned to Lithuanian SSR
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...
. Stulginskis settled in Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, where he died on September 22, 1969, aged 84.