Who's who in the not-so-new Cabinet?

  • 2001-07-12
  • TBT staff
VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus signed a decree on July 5 confirming the composition of the government of Social Democrat leader Algirdas Brazauskas. While there are some new faces, quite a number of old ones remain, mainly from the New Union (Social Liberal) party, which shared power until two weeks ago with the Liberal Union and cooperates with the Social Democrats.

Out of the 13 portfolios, six ministers remain: Defense Minister Linas Linkevicius sent by the Liberal Union in the previous government but now non-partisan, Social Liberal delegate to the previous cabinet Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis, Education and Science Minister Algirdas Monkevicius, Social Welfare and Labor Minister Vilija Blinkeviciute, Agriculture Minister Kestutis Kristinaitis and Health Minister Romualdas Dobrovolskis.

Vytautas Markevicius was appointed justice minister in place of interior minister. Essential details about him and the six completely new arrivals appear below.

Adamkus signed a decree making 68-year-old former Lithuanian President Algirdas Brazauskas prime minister on July 4.

Minister of environmental protection
Environmental protection specialist Arunas Kundrotas and President Valdas Adamkus became friends back in 1990, when both of them still worked in the environmental protection field on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Kundrotas served as deputy minister for about a month under minister Henrikas Zukauskas last fall, but left at the end of December because of disagreements with the minister. After his resignation, Kundrotas worked on an environmental project funded by Denmark and associated with the European Union.

Minister of economy
Lithuanian industrialist Petras Cesna, 56, is the head of Lithuania's top furniture maker Vilniaus Baldu Kombinatas and vice president of the Lithuanian Industrialists' Confederation. In a meeting with Adamkus, Cesna said he talked about the privatization of Lithuania's natural gas monopoly Lietuvos Dujos and other energy-related topics (for an analysis of the new government's economic and financial concerns, see pages 14 and 15).

Minister of interior
Forty-eight-year-old Juozas Bernatonis, is a Social Democrat and was a shadow minister for interior affairs. He said he would hold to the course the ministry is on. "As I see it, there was a good start made on reforms in the police system and administration. Maybe we are dissatisfied with the speed of implementation, but the concept and the beginning are good and they have to be continued," Bernatonis said. He said he would focus a lot of attention on petty crime and prevention of drug abuse.

Minister of transport
Zigmantas Balcytis, is also a 48-year-old Social Democrat. He held the same position in the opposition shadow government. He has been the director of Vilnius' asphalt and concrete works, and holds a degree in economics and finance. Balcytis said he would focus on the problem of tariffs on Russian cargo and would work at solving transportation problems along the Vilnius-Warsaw route. Balcytis added he would not be replacing deputy transportation ministers with new figures. "My work philosophy is, I come, we work, and if I see that a deputy minister is doing his job he has to stay at his job," he said.

Minister of finance
Dalia Grybauskaite, 45, is not aligned with any party. She was deputy minister of foreign affairs in the previous government, and Brazauskas' proposition for her to become minister was unexpected. The proposition was offered just several hours before the appointment. Grybauskaite laid down her conditions to Brazauskas: a strict fiscal policy and integration in the NATO and the European Union.

Minister of culture
Roma Doydeniene, 44, is a Social Democrat MP. She was a lawyer before her political career. Her appointment was perhaps the most sensational; analysts predicted that the popular Liberal Union-nominated Gintautas Kevisas would keep his post. Dovydeniene became only the third leftist-party member in the government.