Remigijus Šimašius

Remigijus Šimašius (born 12 January 1974, in Tauragė) is a Lithuanian lawyer and politician, member of Seimas (2012–2015), Minister of Justice (2008–2012), Mayor of Vilnius since 2015.[1]

Remigijus Šimašius
Mayor of Vilnius
Assumed office
20 April 2015
Preceded byArtūras Zuokas
Minister of Justice
In office
9 December 2008 – 13 December 2012
Prime MinisterAndrius Kubilius
Preceded byPetras Baguška
Succeeded byJuozas Bernatonis
Personal details
Born (1974-01-12) 12 January 1974
Tauragė, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyLithuanian Liberal Union (1995–2005)
Liberal Movement (2006–2018)
Independent (2018–2019)
Freedom Party (2019–present)

Education

In 1997 Šimašius graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Vilnius University, with a degree in law. In 2002 attained a PhD, after defending his doctoral dissertation on Legal pluralism at the Lithuanian University of Law (now Mykolas Romeris University). From 2006 to 2008 he was the President of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute. From 9 December 2008 to 13 December 2012 he was the Minister of Justice of the 15th Government headed by Andrius Kubilius.

Chairman of Liberal movement

Background

In May 2016, in the midst of a Liberal Movement bribery scandal, Eligijus Masiulis resigned as chairman and Antanas Guoga took over as the interim chairman.[2] Guoga immediately suggested that bribery is widespread within the party[3] and the party needs to become more transparent, which resulted in an initiative to remove Guoga.[4] Guoga resigned two days after becoming interim chairman.[4]

Election and resignation

In June 2016, Remigijus Šimašius was elected chairman.[5] Since Šimašius took over, around 20 members left the party.[6] Other members broke off Liberal movement and created 2 new political parties.[7][8] In October 2017, Mr Šimašius left as chairman after 16 months on the job.[9]

Mayor of Vilnius
See also: The Holocaust in Lithuania § Vilnius Street renaming and memorial controversy

As mayor of Vilnius, Šimašius renamed a street that had been named after Kazys Skirpa (who formed the Lithuanian Activist Front which went on to carry out massacres of Jews across Lithuania) and removed a memorial to Jonas Noreika (who ordered and oversaw the killings of Lithuanian Jews in Plungė during the Plungė massacre). He said, "It’s clear that their (Skirpa and Noreika) participation in the Holocaust was not an accident. It’s not about plaques or street names, but about principles."[10] Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda subsequently proposed a law that would require municipalities to follow rules from the national government "when installing, removing or changing commemorative plaques" but later tabled the proposed law.[11]

References
  1. "Liberal Šimašius claims victory in Vilnius mayor election". Delfi.lt. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  2. "Liberalai nusprendė: Eligijų Masiulį pakeis Antanas Guoga".
  3. "A. Guoga išsiliejo apie liberalus: partija gyveno iš šnapso dėžių".
  4. Noreika, Matas. "Antanas Guoga paskelbė: išeinu iš Liberalų sąjūdžio".
  5. "Liberalų sąjūdžio pirmininku išrinktas Remigijus Šimašius".
  6. Jačauskas, Ignas. "Po įtarimų partijai Liberalų sąjūdį paliko jau 20 narių".
  7. "V. Martikonis palieka R. Šimašiaus rėmėjų gretas - LRT". Lietuvos Radijas ir Televizija.
  8. (BNS), Ignas Jačauskas. "Darius Udrys ir kiti buvę liberalai steigia naują partiją".
  9. "„Liberalų sąjūdžio" vadovybėje – byrėjimo metas: R. Šimašius palieka pirmininko kėdę".
  10. "AJC Hosts Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius in Washington". AJC. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  11. Lithuanian president retreats from idea of proposing stricter regulation on plaques, 2020-01-03, Baltic Times, https://www.baltictimes.com/lithuanian_president_retreats_from_idea_of_proposing_stricter_regulation_on_plaques/
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