Artūras Zuokas
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Artūras Zuokas (born February 21, 1968) is a Lithuanian journalist, businessman, politician of Vilnius city municipality (which includes Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania), and the leader of the Liberal and Centre Union political party.
In his youth, he was a war reporter in the First Gulf War, during which he taped footage that was shown all over the world (for example the bombing of the Baghdad TV Tower).
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[edit] Becoming the Mayor of Vilnius
Zuokas was one of the campaign managers for Liberal Union of Lithuania in the 2000 Seimas elections. His party placed the second and won 36 seats. It formed an alliance with the New Union (Socialliberals) and Rolandas Paksas, the leader of the Liberal Union and Vilnius city municipality mayor, became the Prime Minister. There were two candidates to fill in the vacant mayor post: vice-mayor Algirdas Kudzys, and Zuokas, both members of the Liberal Union. There were doubts if Zuokas should become the mayor as he was very young, inexperienced in politics (he was elected to the council just in Spring 2000), and as a businessman he had strong personal interests (for example, he owned a private company in Užupis and some were afraid that he might spend the city funds to reconstruct this district). However, on November 15, 2000, the council voted 27-18 to make Zuokas, at age 32, the youngest mayor in the history of Vilnius.
[edit] New ideas and construction projects
Zuokas soon earned the reputation of an energetic and innovative leader. As early as 2000 he unveiled some of his construction ideas. The populace received them as yet another collection of political promises and fantasies; however, a number of those projects have since been completed:
- The Mindaugas Bridge over the Neris River was completed for the 750th anniversary of Mindaugas coronation in 2003. It was contemplated as part of effort to reconstruct Žalgiris Stadium, Žalgiris swimming pool, and Vilnius Concert and Sport Palace in Žirmūnai. However, those projects are still in progress.
- The reconstruction of Gediminas Avenue is almost complete. An underground parking lot under the Municipality Square has been opened.
- A two-level crossing was built to ease traffic jams for Pilaitė residents.
- A new municipal building was opened on the right bank of the Neris River. Zuokas revitalized and supported Rolandas Paksas' idea to build a new commercial center in Šnipiškės. The new building was just a first step. It has been joined by the new Europa Tower and shopping center. Construction was funded by selling old administrative buildings scattered around the city.
- Construction of the Constitution Avenue is complete.
- Užupis and Malūnai Streets in Užupis district were reconstructed and water supply pipes were replaced. This was justified by the claim that those two streets are most popular among tourists. However, Zuokas’ house as well as his company are both located on Užupis Street.
Zuokas is also sometimes credited for attracting substantial investments into Vilnius. Zuokas has made an effort to market Vilnius at various international exhibitions. He personally attended many meetings with foreign investors. Zuokas speaks several foreign languages and, being himself a businessman, understands business needs well. Also, bureaucratic obstacles to construction have been reduced. In the past few years Vilnius has seen the construction and reconstruction of numerous hotels, office buildings, shopping centers, and residential dwellings.
Zuokas is known for his tourist-orientated initiatives. For example, all taxicabs are now required to be painted in yellow and be not older than 12 years, requirements which faced fierce resistance from taxi drivers. Vilnius city municipality now also maintains a large number of informational maps and signs across the city. He also launched a marketing campaign targeted to the Baltic Sea region to attract more tourists to Vilnius.
In Spring 2001, Vilnius city municipality unveiled a new www.vilnius.lt portal. It was one of the first Internet sites operated by a local government in Lithuania. The site is interactive, and a new position of "e-vice mayor" was created to deal with e-mails from the residents. Another concept was to set up a camera in the mayor's office so that people could watch, but not hear his work live over the Internet. However, this concept was soon abandoned.
[edit] Unsuccessful ideas
Several construction proposals have either not started or have been cancelled:
- Zuokas strongly backed an proposal to build a golf course. A location was found in Pilaitė, but the community protested because the course would destroy a popular recreation area. Also, the course was in part in a protected area and environmentalists joined the protest, and the plans were cancelled.out.
- Zuokas proposed to build several tramway lines to ease traffic and improve public transportation. However, many doubt if Vilnius really needs it, as the construction would take many years if not decades. It might even increase traffic congestion, as streets would need to become narrower to accommodate the trams. Besides, Vilnius right now has a well-developed public transportation system. Critics argue that the money could be used instead to buy new buses and trolleybuses.[citation needed]
Zuokas has made headlines for a number of smaller ideas. For example, he sent out letters to major news services such as CNN, BBC, and ITN, asking them to include Vilnius in their weather maps. Another idea was to change wooden doors to glass in the municipality so that people could peek in on what bureaucrats are doing. It was an extension of his "transparency" campaign. However, it was not very successful; reportedly, a few months later most doors were covered with posters.[citation needed]
One of the most controversial and unsuccessful ideas was orange-colored bicycles that anyone could use free of charge. In June 2001, about 400 bicycles were brought to the streets of the Vilnius Old Town. Hopes were that it would promote a healthy lifestyle, add a little flavor to Vilnius, and reduce traffic congestion in the narrow Old Town streets. However, most bicycles were either irreparably damaged or stolen within a couple of days.[citation needed]
[edit] Municipality debts
Zuokas inherited a municipality with huge debts, reaching up to 420 million litas (approximately 120 million euros), and a great many bureaucrats. An audit of the municipality presented to the city council declared that the structure is bloated and ineffective. Zuokas announced that he would cut 20% of the administrative staff over a two-year period. Approximately 80 million of the debt was collected income tax owned to the central government. By July 2001, this debt reached about 110 million. However, central government was also in debt to Vilnius city municipality. In September 2001, this debt had reached 30 million. In addition, in 1994 the central government had increased wages to schoolteachers, but did not provide any additional funds to the municipality. The municipality therefore sued the government for the 120 million litas cost of these increases, the first time a local government had sued the central government in Lithuania.[citation needed]
In March 2001, the city council decided to sell off assets of the municipality to cover its debts. At first it was doubted if privatization to cover debts was legal[citation needed]. Vilnius Cinema Theater was the first property sold; it was transformed to a Benetton store. Lietuva Cinema Theater was also sold, with an obligation on the buyer to maintain its function for three years. After this term expired, the artist and student community protested against the new owner's plans to build an apartment building. Lietuva, once the biggest cinema theater in Vilnius, was known for supporting non-commercial cinema, organizing film festivals, and being an important part of Vilnius culture. However, in September 2005 Lietuva was closed.[citation needed]
[edit] Becoming a national figure and scandals
By early second quarter of 2001, about 6 months after he became mayor, Zuokas ranked as the 11th most popular politician in Lithuania.[citation needed] He had taken advantage of various public events, participated and organized various charity events, and became a prominent public figure, both politically and culturally. In September 2001 he was recognized by Jacques Chirac for developing relationship between France and Lithuania.[citation needed]
In the third quarter of 2001, Zuokas got involved in the first large scandal. France-based Dalkia placed a winning privatization bid for Vilniaus šilumos tinklai, the company that provides heat for a majority of Vilnius houses. Zuokas obtained and forwarded to authorities audio recordings of what he called threats and blackmail Dalkia to stop negotiations with the municipality. Allegedly, recordings also mentioned that Zuokas could be overthrown. However, authorities declared that these recordings are insufficient, incoherent, and did not initiate legal proceedings.[citation needed]
Zuokas is linked with Valdas Adamkus, the President of Lithuania. He is godfather of Domantas, Zuokas’ son born in 1995. In 1998 Zuokas was managing Adamkus election campaign. In 1999-2004 Zuokas was on the board of Alma Adamkienė charity fund. Zuokas wife is Agnė Zuokienė.
Romani families forcibly evicted in winter in Vilnius December 2004 [1], [2]
[edit] References
- Delfi.lt news archives (Lithuanian)
[edit] External links
- Blog of Artūras Zuokas (Lithuanian)
