Gediminas Kirkilas

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Gediminas Kirkilas (pronunciation (help·info), born on August 30, 1951 in Vilnius, Lithuania) is the current Prime Minister of Lithuania. He was appointed on July 4, 2006 after Zigmantas Balčytis, the provisional Prime Minister, failed to gather required support from the Seimas. Kirkilas managed to get the necessary support from the Seimas on 4 July 2006.^[1]

After he returned from mandatory military service, from 1972 to 1978 he worked in many cultural monuments (like churches or Verkiai palace) restoring their interior and especially rolled gold and moldeling. In 1978 - 1982 he was a student of Political science. After graduation he joined the Communist Party of Lithuania and took various posts there. After Algirdas Brazauskas became the secretary of the party, Kirkilas became his press secretary. Since the independence was declared on March 11, 1990, Kirkilas was involved in the state matters and was elected four times (in 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004) to the Seimas under the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania ballot. He became defense minister of Lithuania on December 7, 2004, and still holds this position..

In 2004 he received MBA from the International Business School in Vilnius.