Lithuania is a multi-party, parliamentary democracy. The president, who is elected directly for 5 years, is head of state and commander in chief overseeing foreign and security policy. The president nominates the prime minister and his cabinet and a number of other top civil servants.

The parliament (Seimas) has 141 members that are elected for a 4-year term. About half of the members are elected in single constituencies (71), and the other half (70) are elected in the nationwide vote by party lists. A party must receive at least 5% of the national vote to be represented in the Seimas. The last parliamentary elections took place in October 2000.

Since 1991, Lithuanian voters have shifted from right to left and back again, swinging between the Conservatives, led by Vytautas Landsbergis (now headed by Andrius Kubilius), and the Labor (former communist) Party, led by former president Algirdas Brazauskas. This pattern was broken in the October 2000 elections when the Liberal Union and New Union parties won the most votes and were able to form a centrist ruling coalition with minor partners. President Adamkus played a key role in bringing the new centrist parties together. The leader of the center-left New Union (also known as the Social Liberal party), Arturas Paulauskas, became the Chairman of the Seimas. The then-government of liberal Rolandas Paksas got off to a rocky start and collapsed within 7 months. In July 2001, the center-left New Union Party forged an alliance with the left-wing Social Democratic Party and formed a new cabinet under former President Algirdas Brazauskas. The cabinet of Algirdas Brazauskas is made up mostly of non-party technocrats and has emphasized the need for financial discipline.

In January 2003, former Prime Minister and Liberal Union Party leader Rolandas Paksas defeated incumbent president Valdas Adamkus in a runoff presidential election. In December 2003, an ad hoc parliamentary commission found that President Paksas’ vulnerability to influence constituted a threat to national security. On April 7, 2004, parliament removed President Paksas from office. Parliamentary Speaker Arturas Paulauskas became acting President. Valdas Adamkus won the second round of presidential elections in June 2004 and was sworn in as President on July 12, 2004. The first round of parliamentary elections was held October 10, 2004 and a second round was held October 24, 2004. A new government, led by Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, took office on December 14, 2004.

Lithuania officially became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 29, 2004 after depositing its instruments of treaty ratification in Washington, DC. Lithuania joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.

Principal Government Officials
President–Valdas Adamkus
Prime Minister–Algirdas Brazauskas, Social Democratic Party
Minister of Foreign Affairs–Antanas Valionis, New Union
Minister of Defense–Gediminas Kirkilas, Social Democratic Party
Minister of Interior–Gintaras Furmanavicius, Labor Party
Minister of Justice–Gintautas Buzinskas, Labor Party
Minister of Finance–Algirdas Butkevicius, Social Democratic Party
Minister of Economy–Viktor Uspaskich, Labor Party
Minister of Transportation–Zigmantas Balcytis, Social Democratic Party
Minister of Agriculture–Kazimira Prunskiene, Peasant Party
Minister of Education and Science–Remigijus Motuzas
Minister of Health–Zilvinas Padaiga, Labor Party
Minister of Social Security and Labor–Vilija Blinkeviciute, New Union
Minister of Culture–Vladimiras Prudnikovas, Labor Party
Minister of Environment–Arunas Kundrotas, Social Democratic Party
Seimas Chairman–Arturas Paulauskas