On May 23 President Valdas Adamkus signed a decree naming Director of the Special Investigations Service Povilas Malakauskas as the candidate for the new director of the State Security Department.
The appointment would have to be approved by Parliament.
Several parliamentary factions, like the Labor Party faction, have previously implied they would not approve of Malakauskas as a candidate.
The president had earlier submitted a decree to the parliament asking they approve Malakauskas's appointment as security chief, but when Parliament initially failed to pass the dismissal of the SSD's current director Arvydas Pocius, the president canceled his decree on Malakauskas.
Arvydas Pocius, who is still acting director of the SSD, resigned six months ago after the findings of a parliamentary investigation by the National Security and Defense Committee found him unfit to run the SSD. Parliament finally voted to dismiss him on May 8, but he will remain in his post until a replacement is approved.
Apart from Malakauskas, the president has considering other potential candidates to run the SSD, including Director of the Public Security Department of the Interior Ministry Alvydas Sakotis, Brigadier General Algis Vaiceliunas and Deputy Commissioner General of the Police Kestutis Lancinskas and Ambassador to Poland Egidijus Meilunas.
