Mykolas Sleževičius

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Mykolas Sleževičius (born February 21, 1882 in Drembliai near Raseiniai — died November 11, 1939 in Kaunas) was a Lithuanian lawyer, politician, journalist, interpreter, actor and director.

[edit] Early life

In 1901 he graduated from the Gymnasium in Jelgava; he later studied law at the Odessa University. Sleževičius took part in the Russian Revolution of 1905. After receiving his law degree in 1907, he returned to Lithuania and joined the Democratic Party of Lithuania.

For the next five years, he worked as editor-in-chief of the newspapers Lietuvos ūkininkas (1907-1912), and Lietuvos Žinios (1910-1912). Later he worked as a lawyer. As German forces approached in 1915, he left for Russia.

Mykolas Sleževičius (seated, in the middle) head of the Fourth Cabinet of Ministers

[edit] Political career

• In 1917 Sleževičius was excluded from the Lithuanian Socialist Peasants Party because he demanded Lithuanian independence from Russia. Later he was an organizer of the Lithuanian Socialist Peasants Democratic Party.

• From 1917 - 1918, Sleževičius was vice-chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania in Russia, an organization in which he later served as chairman. In 1918 he was imprisoned by the Bolsheviks in Voronezh. When released from prison, he returned to Lithuania.

• From 1918-1919 he served twice as Prime Minister of Lithuania in the second ministerial cabinet (26 December, 1918 - 12 March, 1919), refusing to accept powers of dictatorship. After a short break, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Fourth Cabinet on 12 April, 1919 and held this office until 7 October, 1919.

The Fourth Cabinet organized a volunteer army, the Lithuanian Armed Forces, which acted against the Polish nationalist organization Polska Organizacja Wojskowa (POW). This organization held the belief that Lithuania was properly a part of Poland. Support for the Lithuanian Armed Forces was bolstered by widespread disagreement with the previous Prime Minister, Augustinas Voldemaras, who had suggested that Lithuanian militias would suffice for defense against the Polish nationalists. The Fourth Cabinet also laid the foundations for various Lithuanian state institutions, including finances, jurisdictions, and municipalities. The Fourth Cabinet also made a first draft of land reform.

• In 1920, after armed conflict erupted between Poland and Lithuania, Sleževičius was elected chairman of the Lithuanian Defence Committee (Vyriausias Lietuvos gynimo komitetas), and he oversaw the organization of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

• During the period 1922 - 1927, Sleževičius was elected to the Lithuanian Parliament as a representative of the Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union. On July 15, 1926 he was appointed Prime Minister; he held that office until December 17, 1926, when the government was overthrown by a coup d'état. After 1927 he worked as a lawyer for various organizations.

[edit] External links

• Biography
• more extended biography

Prime Ministers of Lithuania
	Prime Ministers	Augustinas Voldemaras | Mykolas Sleževičius | Pranas Dovydaitis | Mykolas Sleževičius | Ernestas Galvanauskas | Kazys Grinius | Ernestas Galvanauskas | Antanas Tumėnas | Vytautas Petrulis | Leonas Bistras | Mykolas Sleževičius | Augustinas Voldemaras | Juozas Tūbelis | Vladas Mironas | Jonas Černius | Antanas Merkys
	LSSR Premiers	Mečislovas Gedvilas | Motiejus Šumauskas | Juozas Maniušis | Ringaudas Songaila | Vytautas Sakalauskas
	Prime Ministers	Kazimira Prunskienė | Albertas Šimėnas | Gediminas Vagnorius | Aleksandras Abišala | Bronislovas Lubys | Adolfas Šleževičius | Laurynas Mindaugas Stankevičius | Gediminas Vagnorius | Irena Degutienė* | Rolandas Paksas | Irena Degutienė* | Andrius Kubilius | Rolandas Paksas | Eugenijus Gentvilas* | Algirdas Brazauskas | Zigmantas Balčytis* | Gediminas Kirkilas * denotes acting