Liberal Union of Lithuania

Liberal Union of Lithuania

Lietuvos liberalų sąjunga
Liberal Union of Lithuania Lietuvos liberalų sąjunga
Abbreviation	LLS
Founded	25 November 1990
Dissolved	31 May 2003
Split from	Sąjūdis
Merged into	Liberal and Centre Union
Ideology	Liberalism; Classical liberalism; Populism (under Paksas)
Political position	Centre
	Politics of Lithuania; Political parties; Elections;

The Liberal Union of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos liberalų sąjunga (LLS)) was a liberal^[4] political party in Lithuania.^[5]^[6]

History

The party was founded on the 25th of November, 1990 on a basis of the Vilnius University Liberal Club. Its first leader was Vilnius University philosophy professor Vytautas Radžvilas. In 1992 parliamentary election, the Liberal Union got 1.51 percent of votes and failed to win any seats. In January 1993 the party congress agreed upon declaration, which stated that the party would position itself on the right. In 1994 the party's membership grew. Most of these new members were either former politicians (e. g. former Moderates Movement's leader Eugenijus Gentvilas) or employees of the infamous East-Baltic States-West [lt] investment company.

In the 1995 municipal election, the party got 2.69 percent of the votes nationally and 40 councillors. Most of these gains were city districts (e. g. Birštonas, Marijampolė, Klaipėda).^[7] After these elections many members of Liberal Union in Kaunas resigned. In 1996 parliamentary election the party received 1.84 percent of the votes and one mandate. In 1997 municipal election, the party won 3.99 percent of the votes. As a result, the Liberal Union managed to form coalitions with other parties and win mayorships (most notably, in Klaipėda).

Party's breakthrough came in late 1999, when former Prime Minister of Lithuania (and Homeland Union member) Rolandas Paksas became party's leader. In 2000 municipal election the Liberal Union won 13.99 percent of the votes (first place was won by the New Union (Social Liberals) with 16.68 percent of the votes) and mayorships in three major cities, Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda. In the parliamentary election of the same year, the party won 17.25 percent of the votes and 34 seats in Seimas. By this, the Liberal Union was the largest single party in Seimas for four months in 2000 and 2001.

After these elections, the Liberal Union formed a coalition with the New Union (Social Liberals), the Lithuanian Centre Union, the Modern Christian Democrats and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (with support from the Lithuanian Peasants Party). This coalition lasted for seven months, when New Union (Social Liberals) withdraw their government ministers.

After this, the party joined the opposition. By December, 2001 Rolandas Paksas (and some of his followers) left the Liberal Union and founded the Liberal Democratic Party. Along this split, the party started negotiations with former coalition partners, the Lithuanian Centre Union and the Modern Christian Democrats, about merger. All three parties merged into Liberal and Centre Union in 2003.