List of rulers of Lithuania

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Lithuania
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The following is a list of Lithuanian rulers — grand dukes, kings, and presidents — when Lithuania was a sovereign state or was regarded as a separate entity (i.e. Lithuanian SSR)^{[dubious – discuss]}. The incumbents and officeholders are listed by names most commonly used in English language. Where appropriate, the alternations in Lithuanian, Ruthenian (later Belarusian) and Polish are included.

The state of Lithuania formed in 1230s, when threatened by the Livonian Order in the north and the Teutonic Knights in the west, Baltic tribes united under Mindaugas leadership. He became the only crowned king of Lithuania. His state became know as Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After Grand Duke Jogaila became also king of Poland in 1386, the two states became closer connected and since 1440 both were ruled by a common ruler. In 1569 Union of Lublin was signed and a new entity — Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth — emerged. The commonwealth was partitioned in 1795 and Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire till February 16, 1918. The Council of Lithuania was able to establish the sovereignty only in 1919, after Germany lost the World War I. The first republic of Lithuania existed till 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 SSR. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare independence. The second Republic of Lithuania is a democratic republic, a member of both the European Union and NATO.

1 The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1236-1569)
2 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795)
3 Within Russian Empire (1795-1917)
4 Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)
5 Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940)
6 Lithuanian SSR (1940-1941 and 1944-1990)
7 Republic of Lithuania (from 1990)
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

The 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).

Early Grand Dukes (1236–1291)

Dates are approximate because of scant written sources.

Term	Grand Duke (Lithuanian name)	Ruthenian name	Polish name	Remarks
1236-1263	Mindaugas	Mindouh	Mendog	Initially Grand Duke, since 1253 King of Lithuania. After he was killed by his nephew Treniota, a war between nobles for power erupted.
1263-1264	Treniota
1264-1267	Vaišvilkas	Vojszalak	Woyszwiłk	Son of Mindaugas, died heirless
1267-1269	Shvarn (Švarnas)	Shvarno	Szwarno
1269-1282	Traidenis	Trajdzien	Trojden
1282-1285	Daumantas of Lithuania	Dowmont
1285-1291	Butigeidis or Butegeidis	Budzikid		Founder of the Gediminid dynasty

House of Gediminaičiai (1291-1440)

Some dates are approximate.

Term	Grand Duke (Lithuanian name)	Ruthenian name	Polish name	Remarks
1291-1295	Butvydas	Lutavier	Budwid	Brother of Butigeidis, father of Vytenis and Gediminas
1295-1316	Vytenis		Witenes	Son of Butvydas
1316-1341	Gediminas	Giedymin	Giedymin	Son of Butvydas. After his death the domain was divided between his 7 sons.
1341-1345	Jaunutis	Jewnut	Jewnuta	Son of Gediminas. Overlord and Grand Duke, deposed by his brothers Algirdas and Kęstutis.
1345-1377	Algirdas	Olgierd		Son of Gediminas. His co-ruler was Kęstutis, who was active in the west. Algirdas was mostly active in the east.
1377-1381	Jogaila	Jahajla	Władysław II Jagiełło	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	Kiejstut		Son of Gediminas, co-ruler with Algirdas. Kęstutis ruled the western Lithuania (with capital in Trakai). 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	Jahajla	Władysław II Jagiełło	Also King of Poland 1386-1434. His governor in Lithuania was Skirgaila (1387-1392).
1392-1430	Vytautas the Great (Vytautas Didysis)	Vitaut	Witold	Son of Kęstutis. Joined his father in the fight against Jogaila, then changed sides and became Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1392. Was to be crowned King of Lithuania in 1429, but the crown was stopped by the Poles. Died before the second crown arrived.
1430-1432	Švitrigaila	Svidryhajla	Świdrygiełło	Son of Algirdas, brother of Jogaila. Deposed by followers of Žygimantas, son of Kęstutis.
1432-1440	Žygimantas Kęstutaitis (Sigismund Kestutatis)	Zygimont I Kejstutavicz	Zygmunt Kiejstutowicz	Son of Kęstutis, brother of Vytautas. Killed by Švitrigaila supporters.

Personal Union with Poland under House of Jogailaičiai (1440–1572)

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

Term	Incumbent	Lithuanian name	Ruthenian name	Polish name	Remarks
1440-1492	Casimir IV Jagiellon	Kazimieras I Jogailaitis	Kazimir Jahelonczyk	Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk	Son of Jogaila. Elected and crowned King of Poland in 1447 after the death of king Wladyslaw Warnenczyk
1492-1506	Alexander I	Aleksandras I	Alaksandr	Aleksander I	Son of Casimir IV. Elected and crowned King of Poland in 1501 after the death of king Jan I Olbracht
1506-1548	Sigismund I the Old	Žygimantas Senasis	Žygimont II Stary	Zygmunt I Stary	Son of Casimir IV.
1548-1572	Sigismund II Augustus	Žygimantas Augustas	Žygimont III August	Zygmunt II August	Son of Sigismund I the Old. Factual ruler since 1529.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795)

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was established by Union of Lublin in 1569. The elected King of Poland was automatically made the Grand Duke of Lithuania (until then Lithuanian dukedom was hereditary). The first ruler of the common country 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.

Title: King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lenkijos karalius ir Lietuvos didysis kunigaikštis; Belarusian: karol Polščy, vialiki kniaź litoŭski; Polish: Król Polski, wielki książę litewski).

Term	Incumbent	Lithuanian name	Ruthenian name	Polish name	House	Remarks
1573-1575	Henry III de Valois	Henrikas Valua	Anry Valua	Henryk Walezy	de Valois	He abandoned the throne and fled to France where he was crowned as Henri III
1576-1586	Stefan Batory	Steponas Batoras	Stiapan Batura	Stefan Batory	Báthory
1588-1632	Sigismund III Vasa	Zigmantas IV Vaza	Žyhimont III Vaza	Zygmunt III Waza	Vasa	Proponent of a personal union between The Republic and Sweden, King of Sweden between 1592 and 1599
1632-1648	Ladislaus IV Vasa	Vladislovas II Vaza	Uladzislaǔ I Vaza	Władysław IV Waza
1648-1668	John II Casimir Vasa	Jonas I Kazimieras Vaza	Jan Kazimier Vaza	Jan Kazimierz		Abdicated and became a monk, last of the Vasa dynasty in Poland-Lithuania
1669-1673	Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki	Mykolas I Kaributas Višnioveckis	Michał Karybut Wišniaviecki	Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki	Polish szlachta
1674-1696	John III Sobieski	Jonas II Sobieskis		Jan III Sobieski	Polish szlachta
1697-1706	Augustus II the Strong	Augustas II Saksas	Aǔhust II Mocny	August II Mocny	Wettin	also Elector of Saxony as Frederick Augustus I
1706-1709	Stanisław Leszczyński	Stanislovas I Leščinskis		Stanisław Leszczyński	Polish szlachta	War of Polish Succession
1709-1733	Augustus II the Strong	Augustas II Saksas	Aǔhust II Mocny	August II Mocny	Wettin	also Elector of Saxony as Frederick Augustus I
1733-1736	Stanisław Leszczyński	Stanislovas I Leščinskis		Stanisław Leszczyński	Polish szlachta	War of Polish Succession
1733-1763	August III Wettin	Augustas III Saksas	August III Sas	August III Saski	Wettin
1764-1795	Stanisław August Poniatowski	Stanislovas II Augustas Poniatovskis		Stanisław August Poniatowski	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

Within Russian Empire (1795-1917)

After Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth last Grand Duke Stanisław August Poniatowski resigned and Russian Emperors titled themselves as Lithuanian Grand Dukes (Russian: Великий Князь Литовский) and Samogitian Princes (Russian: Князь Самогитский). As Lithuania in XIX century was understood wider territory compared to modern Republic of Lithuania, containing territories in modern Poland and Belarus.

Term	Incumbent	Lithuanian name	Belarusian name	Polish name	Russian name	House	Remarks
1795-1796	Catherine II	Jekaterina II	Кацярына ІІ	Katarzyna II	Екатерина II	Romanovs
1796-1801	Paul I	Pavelas I	Павел I	Paweł I	Павел I
1801-1825	Alexander I	Aleksandras I	Аляксандар I	Aleksander I	Александр I
1825-1855	Nicholas I	Mikalojus I	Міхал I	Mikołaj I	Николай I
1855-1881	Aleksander II	Aleksandras II	Аляксандар II	Aleksander II	Александр II		After January Uprising Tsar forbade the usage of term Lithuania, though preserved in own title
1881-1894	Aleksander III	Aleksandras III	Аляксандар III	Aleksander III	Александр III
1894-1917	Nicholas II	Mikalojus II	Міхал II	Mikołaj II	Николай II

Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)

The Council of Lithuania declared independence on February 16, 1918 when Lithuania was occupied by the Reichswehr. The name of the state was the Kingdom of Lithuania. On July 9, 1918, the council declared that the Duke of Urach is to become King Mindaugas II of Lithuania. However, on November 2, the council revoked this decision and declared that Lithuania is to be a democratic republic.

Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940)

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

Term	President	Remarks
April 4, 1919 – June 19, 1920	Antanas Smetona	Elected by the Council of Lithuania
June 19, 1920 – June 7, 1926	Aleksandras Stulginskis	Acting President (as Constituent Assembly). Re-elected by the Seimas on December 21, 1922 and in June 1923.
June 7 - December 18 1926	Kazys Grinius	Elected by parliament, but overthrown by a military coup d'état
December 18 – December 19 1926	Jonas Staugaitis	Formally, for one day, as the head of Seimas (renounced the office after the coup d'état)
December 19, 1926	Aleksandras Stulginskis	Formally, as the new head of Seimas, only for several hours
December 19, 1926 – June 15 1940	Antanas Smetona	Second term, elected president after a military coup d'état; after the Soviet ultimatum of 1940 he fled to Germany and then to the USA
June 15 – June 17 1940	Antanas Merkys	The Prime Minister, de facto acting president after Smetona's defection. Not recognised by Lithuanian diplomats abroad; he assumed the role of president illegally, as Smetona neither resigned nor died.
June 17 – August 3 1940	Justas Paleckis	Chosen unconstitutionally by leaders of the Lithuanian communists under pressure from the Soviet Union, not recognized internationally or by the Lithuanian diplomatic service

Lithuanian SSR (1940-1941 and 1944-1990)

The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania and established Lithuanian SSR in July 1940. As Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Lithuania was occupied by the Germans. Few days before the German occupation, Lithuania was ruled by pro-German rebel government of J. Ambrazevicius. Under Germans, the General District of Lithuania was governed by the administration of general P. Kubiliunas. As Nazi Germany retreated, the Soviet Union reoccupied the country and reestablished 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).

Term	First Secretary	Remarks
July 21, 1940 – June 24, 1941 July 13, 1944 – January 22, 1974	Antanas Sniečkus
February 18, 1974 – November 14, 1987	Petras Griškevičius
December 1, 1987 – October 19, 1988	Ringaudas Bronislovas Songaila	First leader of the party to be deposed of his power (Sniečkus and Griškevičius held office until their death)
October 19, 1988 – December, 1989	Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas	Lost power as independence was declared

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

Term	Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet	Remarks
August 25, 1940 - April 14 1967	Justas Paleckis	In Russian SFSR exile 1941-1944
April 14, 1967 - December 24, 1975	Motejus Sumauskas
December 24, 1975 - November 18, 1985	Antanas Barkauskas
November 18, 1985 - December 7, 1987	Ringaudas Bronislavas Songaila
December 7, 1987 - January 15, 1990	Vytautas Astrauskas
January 15, 1990 - March 11, 1990	Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas

Republic of Lithuania (from 1990)

The leader of the Supreme Council was the official head of state from the declaration of independence on March 11, 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.

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

Title from 1992 onwards: President (Lithuanian: Prezidentas).

Term	Officeholder	Remarks
March 11, 1990 – November 25, 1992	Vytautas Landsbergis	As Chairman of the Supreme Council.
November 25, 1992 – February 25, 1998	Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas	First post-Soviet President. Acting President (as Speaker of Seimas) until February 25, 1993, when he won the first Presidential elections. Did not run for a second term.
February 26, 1998 – February 25, 2003	Valdas Adamkus	Was not re-elected for a second term.
February 26, 2003 – April 6, 2004	Rolandas Paksas	Impeached and removed from office.
April 6, 2004 – July 12, 2004	Artūras Paulauskas	As leader of Seimas, temporarily performed the duties of the President until the next election.
July 12, 2004 – Present	Valdas Adamkus

References

History, Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania. Accessed August 26, 2006.
(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