Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda on Monday appointed Robertas Kaunas as protection minister and Vaida Aleknavičienė as tradition minister.
Kaunas, a Social Democrat whose protection expertise is restricted to only over a month on the Seimas (parliament) Nationwide Safety and Protection Committee, was nominated by Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė.
The president mentioned that he had anticipated Kaunas to have “much less experience” in sure areas however, after his assembly with him, was pleasantly shocked.
“Mr. Kaunas was well-prepared and answered these questions,” Nausėda instructed journalists, in line with information company BNS.
A day earlier than the nomination, former protection deputy minister, Giedrimas Jeglinskas, from the center-left Union of Democrats “For Lithuania” social gathering, mentioned: “It is a lottery through which Lithuania’s safety is at stake, and that’s in all probability what worries me essentially the most.”
In response to criticism, Kaunas wrote on Fb that “criticism is critical to maintain us vigilant, however the doubts it raises are unfounded.”
The protection portfolio turned vacant after Ruginienė dismissed the earlier minister, Dovilė Šakalienė, on Oct. 22 amid a dispute over Lithuania’s protection price range.
The federal government has proposed spending a file 5.38 p.c of GDP for protection in 2026, which nonetheless requires parliamentary approval.
“This unprecedented price range sends a powerful sign to our NATO companions that Lithuania is a dependable member of the Alliance, absolutely conscious of its geographical place and of the intentions of our neighbors to the east,” Kaunas mentioned. He added that Lithuania will probably be able to host a German brigade by the top of 2027.
Kaunas vowed to strengthen Lithuania’s protection by way of sensible planning, superior applied sciences, and improved situations for each Lithuanian troops and allied forces, whereas persevering with to help Ukraine.
“Creating the protection trade in Lithuania, along with Western companions, is a precedence for our safety and, on the similar time, a stimulus for financial development,” he mentioned.
Discovering a protection minister took lower than three weeks — half the time it took to exchange former tradition minister Ignotas Adomavičius, who resigned after only one week in workplace following public backlash and protests from Lithuania’s cultural group over the allocation of the ministry to the populist Daybreak of Nemunas social gathering.
This text has been up to date.