Augustinas Voldemaras

Augustinas Voldemaras
1st and 12th Prime Minister of Lithuania
In office 11 November 1918 – 26 December 1918
Succeeded by	Mykolas Sleževičius
In office 17 December 1926 – 23 September 1929
President	Antanas Smetona
Preceded by	Mykolas Sleževičius
Succeeded by	Juozas Tūbelis
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 11 November 1918 – 19 June 1920
Prime Minister	Himself Mykolas Sleževičius Pranas Dovydaitis Ernestas Galvanauskas
Succeeded by	Juozas Purickis
In office 17 December 1926 – 23 September 1929
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Mykolas Sleževičius
Succeeded by	Juozas Tūbelis
Minister of Defense
In office 11 November 1918 – 24 December 1918
Prime Minister	Himself
Succeeded by	Mykolas Velykis
Personal details
Born	(1883-04-16)16 April 1883 Dysna, Sventsyansky Uyezd, Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	16 May 1942(1942-05-16) (aged 59) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Political party	Party of National Progress (1916–1924) Lithuanian Nationalist Union (1924–1929)
Spouse	Matilda Voldemarienė
Alma mater	Saint Petersburg Imperial University

Augustinas Voldemaras (16 April 1883 – 16 May 1942) was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He briefly served as the country's first prime minister in 1918 and continued serving as the minister of foreign affairs until 1920, representing the fledgling Lithuanian state at the Versailles Peace Conference and the League of Nations. After some time in academia, Voldemaras returned to politics in 1926, when he was elected to the Third Seimas.

Dissatisfied with the left-wing government of President Kazys Grinius, Voldemaras and fellow nationalist Antanas Smetona supported the military coup d'état in December 1926 and he was appointed as the prime minister for a second time. A brilliant orator, Voldemaras represented the radical wing of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union that was increasingly critical of the more moderate policies of President Smetona. Smetona had Voldemaras removed from office in September 1929 and exiled to Zarasai. Voldemaras was arrested in 1934 after the failed coup against Smetona and served a prison sentence until exiled to France in 1938. Returning to Lithuania soon after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, he was promptly arrested by the Soviet authorities and died in their custody in Moscow.^[1]