'Artūras Paulauskas' (, born
August 23,
1953) is a
Lithuanian politician. He was the speaker of
Seimas, the
parliament of Lithuania, and following the impeachment of
President Rolandas Paksas on
April 6,
2004, served as acting President of Lithuania until early elections were held and a new President was sworn on
July 12, 2004.
Early career
Artūras Paulauskas graduated from
Vilnius University with a degree in
law in
1976. He then worked as an investigator and a prosecutor. He was Deputy Prosecutor General of Lithuania from
1987 to
1990 and Prosecutor General of Lithuania from
1990 to
1995.
Political career
Artūras Paulauskas entered politics by running for President of Lithuania in the
1997-
1998 elections. He was supported by outgoing President
Algirdas Brazauskas and narrowly lost in the runoff to
Valdas Adamkus, with A. Paulauskas gaining 49.6% of vote and V. Adamkus gaining 50.4%. He then established ''The
New Union (Social Liberals)'' party, which gained 19.6% of vote in the
2000 parliamentary elections. On
October 19,
2000, he became the speaker of
Seimas, the
parliament of Lithuania.
On
April 11,
2006 Paulauskas was removed from the office by 94 votes (only 11 parliamentarians voted against it). His party
New Union (Social Liberals) did not participate in the election. Paulauskas was succeeded by
Viktoras Muntianas.
External links
★
Biography in English - from
Seimas website.
★
Personal Website