Abukevicius leaves DefMin to work for Lithuanian Embassy in Tokyo

VILNIUS - Margiris Abukevicius announced on Friday he had left his position as a vice minister of national defense and is going to work as a defense adviser at the Lithuanian Embassy in Japan.

"A couple of weeks ago, I said goodbye to my political team and went back to where I came from, the civil service", he posted on Facebook. – "Next stop is Japan. In January, I will take up the post of a defense adviser at the Lithuanian Embassy in Tokyo. I am leaving with an important mission to contribute to strengthening the defense element of the strategic partnership with Japan and to build defense ties with other like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific."

The National Defense Minister had not informed the public about the vice minister's departure.

Abukevicius was appointed a vice minister of national defense in 2020 and was then said to be responsible for international cooperation and cyber security issues.

The Lithuanian national defense minister now has two vice ministers, Vilius Semeska and Zilvinas Tomkus.