The Seimas has approved the Programme of the Government

Press release, 12 December 2024

The Seimas has approved the Programme of the 19th Government, presented by Gintautas Paluckas, Prime Minister of Lithuania. The relevant Seimas resolution was adopted by 85 votes in favour, 14 against, and 28 abstentions.

Following this decision, the new Government has been granted the authority to act and will have three months to approve a plan for implementing the provisions of the Government Programme.

In the words of Mr Paluckas: ‘This Programme of the Government is the programme of a Great Nation; and a Great Nation has a big heart, encompassing all the care and empathy that our people require.’

The resolution outlines ten key directions for the Government’s work. These include promoting economic growth, strengthening public finances, improving conditions for family building and child-rearing, ensuring quality and accessible healthcare and education, enhancing protection against external threats, pursuing an active and constructive foreign policy, fostering an open and democratic Lithuanian culture and civic identity, ensuring efficient state governance, advancing sustainable energy, protecting environmental sustainability, revitalising rural communities, and supporting competitive and sustainable agriculture. The document notes that the main directions for Government activities align with the legitimate expectations of the people, as outlined in the Constitution, and with the political will of the nation. These directions are based on the values of solidarity, equality, justice, and progress. ‘The aim of the 19th Government is to set the state back on course for consistent and sustainable development and to safeguard it as the common good of all citizens,’ the Government Programme emphasises.

‘We live in challenging times. These include Russia’s aggression, a complex geopolitical situation, an international order shaken to its foundations, a deepening climate crisis, the unpredictable development of artificial intelligence, the unchecked growth of the influence and power of major global companies, the threat of global diseases, and the ever-increasing cost of living. In such circumstances, the political will expressed by the Lithuanian people, unequivocally signalling their expectations for political renewal, places an indisputable obligation upon us and serves as a mandate for the incoming Government to address the challenges of this time wisely and effectively,’ the Programme states.

After the approval of the Programme, the Ministers of the 19th Government took the oath of office. They included Gintautas Paluckas, Prime Minister; Povilas Poderskis, Minister of Environment; Lukas Savickas, Minister of the Economy and Innovation; Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Minister of Energy; Rimantas Šadžius, Minister of Finance; Dovilė Šakalienė, Minister of National Defence; Šarūnas Birutis, Minister of Culture; Inga Ruginienė, Minister of Social Security and Labour; Eugenijus Sabutis, Minister of Transport and Communications; Marija Jakubauskienė, Minister of Health; Raminta Popovienė, Minister of Education, Science and Sport; Rimantas Mockus, Minister of Justice; Kęstutis Budrys, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Vladislavas Kondratovičius, Minister of the Interior; and Ignas Hofmanas, Minister of Agriculture.

The oath was administered by Saulius Skvernelis, Speaker of the Seimas. The signed oath sheets of the members of the Government will be handed over to the Speaker of the Seimas and archived at the Office of the Seimas. With the swearing-in of the members of the new Government, the tenure of the 18th Government officially came to an end.

Rimas Rudaitis, Adviser, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5 209 6132, e-mail: [email protected]