Šimonytė Cabinet | |
|---|---|
| 18th Cabinet of Lithuania | |
 | |
| Date formed | 11 December 2020 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Gitanas Nausėda |
| Head of government | Ingrida Šimonytė |
| No. of ministers | 14 |
| Member parties | 50 / 141 Homeland Union13 / 141 Liberal Movement11 / 141 Freedom Party
|
| Status in legislature | (74 out of 141) |
| Opposition cabinet | Karbauskis Cabinet |
| Opposition parties | 19 / 141 Farmers and Greens Union16 / 141 Union of Democrats "For Lithuania"13 / 141 Social Democratic Party8 / 141 Labour Party
|
| Opposition leader | Saulius Skvernelis (2021) |
| History | |
| Election(s) | 2020 |
| Legislature term(s) | Thirteenth Seimas |
| Predecessor | Skvernelis Cabinet |
Šimonytė Cabinet is the 18th cabinet of the national government of the Republic of Lithuania. It consists of the current Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė who is the Head of Government, and 14 government ministers from the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, Liberal Movement of the Republic of Lithuania, Freedom Party.
History
During the night of the second round of the 2020 Lithuanian parliamentary election, once most of the results were counted, it was announced about the probable formation of the center-right coalition between Homeland Union, Liberal Movement and the Freedom Party.[1] It was announced on November 9 that the center-right parties successfully signed a coalition agreement and the 18th cabinet of Lithuania will be led by Homeland Union nominee-Independent candidate Šimonytė.[2]
On 24 November, Šimonytė was nominated as the Prime Minister by the Seimas[3] and her cabinet was appointed by the president on 7 December.[4] On 11 December, the Government program was approved, thus, the cabinet officially took office.[5]
Cabinet
On November 18, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė announced her preliminary cabinet which will consist of 2 ministers delegated by Liberal Movement, 3 ministers delegated by Freedom Party and 9 ministers delegated by the Homeland Union.[6]
Almost half of the ministers, together with Šimonytė herself, are women.
Premiership of Ingrida Šimonytė
Domestic policy
COVID-19 pandemic
The government of Saulius Skvernelis held its last meeting on 9 December 2020, before the new cabinet is expected to assume office on Friday. Then, PM-designate Šimonytė urged the outgoing government to step up coronavirus measures.
Šimonytė's cabinet was sworn in and started working on 11 December 2020, when the number of cases reached 3067. Two days later, restrictions were put in place.
The vaccination program began on 27 December 2020, as in the rest of the European Union. The first to receive the vaccine were healthcare professionals working with COVID-19 patients.[10]
On 4 January, Lithuanian government confirmed backlog of 293 deaths that were previously unaccounted in statistic.[11]
From 15 February, partial lifting of lockdown was made, including decision to re-open small shops and beauty salons. Later, wearing face masks no longer required outdoors.
On 17 March Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys suspended the use of vaccine produced by British-Swedish company AstraZeneca. On 18 March the European Medicines Agency said the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe.[12] On 22 March 2021, Šimonytė, Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, and Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys also received the same vaccine.[13]
Portfolio of strategic works (projects)
Based on the priority works of the Government's program, the portfolio of the Prime Minister's strategic projects has been compiled. The following five strategic works (projects) have been published in the Prime Minister's portfolio of strategic works (projects) as part of the reforms of the government term:[14]
- restructurization of the civil service;
- educational program "Millennium Schools";
- EDtech digital transformation of education;
- creation of innovation ecosystems in science centers, innovation agencies and mission-based science and business innovation programs;
- creation of a long-term care service delivery model.
The Prime Minister's portfolio of strategic works (projects) also includes the commitment of the implementation plan of the Eighteenth Government Program to prepare the State Progress Strategy "Lithuania 2050" and seven more strategic works (projects) of public management, education and strategic infrastructure:[15]
- Review of functions and optimal network of institutions (public management system).
- Public and administrative services (including their quality assurance in the regions).
- Financial planning of the government sector is oriented towards strategic goals.
- Sustainable interaction between culture and education (inclusion of culture and creativity in education).
- An effective system for increasing resilience to threats, crisis and emergency management.
- Secure electrical energy system (synchronization of the electrical energy system with the West and the blockade of the Astravo nuclear power plant).
- Development of strategic rail and road transport connections.
Foreign policy
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Baltic States
On 1 January 2021, Šimonytė took over the presidency of the Baltic Council of Ministers for a term of one year.[16]
Belarus
During the meeting with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Šimonytė emphasized that Lithuania seeks to further increase pressure on the Belarusian regime. Lithuania also supports the expansion of EU sanctions. During the meeting, the prime minister said:[17]
<...> Release of political prisoners, end of repression, and free and democratic elections are the key steps that Belarusians are demanding. Lithuania and the entire democratic world demand the same.
References
- ↑ Naprys, Paulius Paulaitis; Gintarė Bakūnaitė; Dalia Plikūnė; Simona Voveriūnaitė; Justina Maciūnaitė; Raminta Rakauskė; Ernestas. "Trys partijos išplatino deklaraciją dėl koalicijos: formuojama Vyriausybė, vadovaujama Šimonytės". DELFI.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Konservatoriai, liberalai ir Laisvės partija sukirto rankomis – pasirašyta valdančiosios koalicijos sutartis". lrt.lt. November 9, 2020.
- ↑ "Lithuanian parliament approves Šimonytė as prime minister". lrt.lt. November 24, 2020.
- ↑ https://www.lrp.lt/data/public/uploads/2020/12/2020-12-07-nr.-1k-459.pdf
- ↑ "Lietuva turi naują Vyriausybę – Seimas pritarė programai, prisiekė ministrai". 11 December 2020.
- ↑ Voveriūnaitė, Dalia Plikūnė; Simona. "Šimonytė Nausėdai ant stalo deda ministrų sąrašą: pateiktos konkrečios pavardės". DELFI.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Supported by the Homeland Union
- ↑ Supported by the Homeland Union
- ↑ Supported by the Freedom Party
- ↑ "Lithuanian healthcare workers start getting the COVID-19 vaccine". sam.lrv.lt. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ↑ "NVSC vadovas ministrui pateikė atsakymus dėl neapskaitytų mirčių" (in Lithuanian). 4 January 2021.
- ↑ "How politics influences Lithuanian health system". moderndiplomacy.eu. 23 March 2021.
- ↑ "Šimonytė pasiskiepijo "AstraZeneca" vakcina: "Man gaila, kad šiai vakcinai pasitikėjimo pritrūko"". lrt.lt. 22 March 2021.
- ↑ https://ministraspirmininkas.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/sudarytas-ministro-pirmininko-strateginiu-darbu-projektu-portfelis
- ↑ https://lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/sudarytas-ministro-pirmininko-strateginiu-darbu-projektu-portfelis
- ↑ "Prime Minister: Baltic co-operation becomes ever more important in the face of pandemic". Vyriausybė. 21 December 2020.
- ↑ Prime Minister discusses situation in Belarus with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
External links
 Governments of member states of the European Union | |
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