Seimas appointed a new Permanent Representative of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania to the European Union

Press release, 27 May 2020

Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas

Rūta Bunevičiūtė, a carrier civil servant of the Office of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, has been appointed as the new Permanent Representative of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania to the European Union from 1 August, 2020. 

The Permanent Representative of the Seimas to the EU assists in enhancing and developing the co-operation between the Seimas, the Office of the Seimas, and the EU institutions, as well as provides information to the EU institutions about the activities of the Seimas, and regularly informs the Seimas and the Office of the Seimas about the activities of the EU institutions.

The Permanent Representative cooperates and coordinates his/her activities with the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the European Union. The Permanent Representative has a status equivalent to the status of a special attaché working at the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the European Union.

Ms Bunevičiūtė is a graduate of Vilnius University and holds a degree in European Integration Studies from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. She started her career at the Office of the Seimas as a consultant at the Information Analysis Unit of the Seimas. She then worked as an Adviser of the International Relations Unit and later as an Adviser and Senior Adviser of the Office of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs, eventually becoming the Head of the Office of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs. Moreover, she was the first to become the Permanent Representative of the Seimas to the European Parliament. Prior to her most recent appointment as the Permanent Representative of the Seimas, Ms Bunevičiūtė headed the Office of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs.

The newly appointed Permanent Representative used to serve as a Delegated National Expert at George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies (a German-American Partnership), in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Furthermore, she was engaged in the EU twinning projects in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkey. She improved her professional qualifications in various Lithuanian and international establishments, including the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress in the United States, the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, and the French National School of Administration (École nationale d’administration, l’ENA).

The Permanent Representative of the Seimas to the EU is selected by way of competition and appointed pursuant to the Law on the Permanent Representative of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania to the European Union.

Previous Permanent Representatives of the Seimas to the EU included Loreta Raulinaitytė, Živilė Pavilonytė, and Matas Maldeikis.

Saulė Eglė Trembo, Chief Specialist, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5 239 6203, e-mail: [email protected]