Mykolas Sleževičius
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Mykolas Sleževičius (born February 21, 1882 in Drembliai near Raseiniai — died November 11, 1939 in Kaunas) was a Lithuanian lawyer, politician, journalist, interpreter, actor and director of noble Lithuanian extraction.
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[edit] Early life
In 1901 he graduated from the Gymnasium in Jelgava; he later studied law at the Odessa University. Sleževičius took part in the Russian Revolution of 1905. After receiving law degree in 1907, he returned to Lithuania and joined the Lithuanian Democratic Party.
For the next five years, he worked as editor-in-chief of the newspapers Lietuvos ūkininkas (1907-1912), and Lietuvos Žinios (1910-1912). Later he worked as a lawyer. As German forces approached in 1915, he left for Russia.
[edit] Political career
In 1917 Sleževičius was excluded from the Lithuanian Socialist Peasants Party because he demanded Lithuanian independence from Russia. Later he was an organizer of the Lithuanian Socialist Peasants Democratic Party.
1917 Sleževičius was appointed as vice-chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania in Russia, an organization in which he later served as chairman. In 1918 he was imprisoned by the Bolsheviks in Voronezh. When released from prison, he returned to Lithuania.
During tears 1918-1919 he twice served as Prime Minister of Lithuania. Military offered him to accept powers of dictator, but he refused. As the Council of Lithuania officially dissolved Cabinet of Augustinas Voldemaras, and appointed Sleževičius to form the Cabinet. sleževičius served as Prime Minister of Lithuania in the second Cabinet (26 December, 1918 - 12 March, 1919), and after a short break, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Fourth Cabinet on 12 April, 1919 and held this office until 7 October, 1919.
The Fourth Cabinet organized a volunteer army, the Lithuanian Armed Forces, which acted against the Polish nationalist organization Polska Organizacja Wojskowa (POW)[1]. This organization held the belief that Lithuania was properly a part of Poland. Support for the Lithuanian Armed Forces was bolstered by widespread disagreement with the previous Prime Minister, Augustinas Voldemaras, who had suggested that Lithuanian militias would suffice for defense against the Polish nationalists. The Fourth Cabinet also laid the foundations for various Lithuanian state institutions, including finances, jurisdiction, and municipalities. The Fourth Cabinet also made a first draft of land reform.
In 1920, after armed conflict between Poland and Lithuania erupted, Sleževičius was elected chairman of the Lithuanian Defence Committee (Vyriausias Lietuvos gynimo komitetas), and he oversaw the organization of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
1922 Sleževičius was elected to the Lithuanian Parliament as a representative of the Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union. On July 15, 1926 he was appointed Prime Minister; he held that office until December 17, 1926, when the government was overthrown by a coup d'état.
After 1927 he worked as a lawyer for various organizations, and was chairman of Lithuanian Society of Lawyers.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Augustinas Voldemaras |
Prime Minister of Lithuania 26 December 1918 – March 12, 1919 |
Succeeded by Pranas Dovydaitis |
| Preceded by Pranas Dovydaitis |
Prime Minister of Lithuania April 12, 1918 – 7 October 1919 |
Succeeded by Ernestas Galvanauskas |
| Preceded by Leonas Bistras |
Prime Minister of Lithuania June 15, 1926 – 17 December 1926 |
Succeeded by Augustinas Voldemaras |
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[edit] References
- ^ Julius, Būtėnas; Mečys Mackevičius (1995). [[1] Mykolas Sleževičius: advokatas ir politikas]. Vilnius: Lietuvos rašytojų sąjungos leidykla, 263. ISBN 9986-413-31-1.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sleževičius, Mykolas |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Three-time Prime Minister of Lithuania |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 21 February 1882 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lithuania |
| DATE OF DEATH | 11 November 1939 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Kaunas |
