Former presidential chancellor Barzdiene appointed Lithuania's economy vice-minister

VILNIUS - Agila Barzdiene, who resigned as chancellor of the president's office earlier this week, has been appointed deputy economy and innovation minister, Economy and Innovation Minister Lukas Savickas confirmed to BNS on Thursday.

Barzdiene will be responsible for small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism, public procurement, and EU-related matters.

She was one of the founders of Create Lithuania and led the program from 2014 to 2021 before her appointment as chancellor of the president's office.

Barzdiene is the fourth member of President Gitanas Nauseda's team to take on a ministerial or vice-ministerial role in the government.

Three former presidential advisors - Kestutis Budrys, Sigitas Mitkus and Tomas Godliauskas - have been appointed foreign minister, deputy foreign minister, and deputy defense minister, respectively.

According to Savickas, his team of deputy ministers will also include Marius Stasiukaitis, Andzej Trachimovic and Darius Indriunas.

"I'm glad we've managed to form what I believe is a professional team with diverse expertise," the minister told BNS.

Stasiukaitis, who spent the past six years working for the government's foreign direct investment promotion agency Invest Lithuania and previously worked as an analyst in various organizations, will be responsible for investment attraction and innovation.

Trachimovic, until recently CEO at AIT Solutions and a former official at the Economy and Innovation Ministry and the State Labor Inspectorate, will oversee IT sector consolidation.

There is little public information about Indriunas, a member of the Democratic Union "For Lithuania", apart from his role as chairman of the board at the centralized public property manager Turto Bankas (Property Bank).

The ministry says in a press release that Indriunas has extensive experience in financial management across various companies and has served as a member and chairman of the management boards of several state enterprises.

Indriunas will be responsible for state enterprise governance.

"We will soon unveil a work plan that will reflect our five strategic directions for the next four years: creating a level playing field for businesses, promoting a high value-added economy, addressing regional disparities, revitalizing the tourism sector, fostering dialogue with businesses and the community, and reducing bureaucracy," Savickas said.

Egle Radisauskiene has already assumed the position of chancellor at the Economy and Innovation Ministry. She previously worked as deputy social security and labor minister and director of the Lithuanian Business Confederation.

Savickas' advisors include Silva Lengviniene, Fausta Roznyte, and Karolis Vaitkevicius, the latter also serving as the minister's spokesperson.