Pirmieji Lietuvos ministrų kabinetai 1918 metais Vilniuje

LTLietuvos Valstybės Taryba 1918 m. lapkričio 11 d. patvirtino pirmąjį Augustino Voldemaro vadovaujamą laikinąjį Lietuvos valstybės Ministrų Kabinetą. Jis įsikūrė Vilniuje, Šv. Jurgio (dabar Gedimino) prospekto 13 numeriu pažymėtame name. Čia pirmojoje ir antrojoje Vyriausybėse dirbo 17 žinomų politikų, savo profesijos žinovų, valstybės interesų gynėjų. 1919 m. sausio 2 d. antrasis Ministrų Kabinetas buvo priverstas persikelti į Kauną, kuriame tęsė Nepriklausomybės įtvirtinimo ir valstybės institucijų formavimo darbą. Pirmosios Lietuvos Vyriausybės 100 metų jubiliejui skirtoje knygoje skelbiami pirmųjų Ministrų Kabinetų veiklos Vilniuje dokumentai ir nuotraukos. Garbingos sukakties proga trumpai primenama ir vėlesnių Vyriausybių sudėtis ir raida 1918–1940 ir 1990–2018 metais. [Leidėjo anotacija]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Augustinas Voldemaras; Mykolas Šleževičius; Vyriausybė; Posėdžių protokolai; Augustinas Voldemaras; Mykolas Šleževičius; Goverment; Minutes of the meetings.

ENAlready in the first period of statehood, until 1795, Vilnius was a permanent political centre of Lithuania, an engine of culture and the capital of the state. The Russian Empire was unable to suppress social memory even by placing huge restrictions after two failed uprisings in the 19th century. In the early 20th century, a community of Lithuanian intellectuals of peasant and noble descent was formed in Vilnius. Inspired by the glorious past and rethinking the present, they began to seek political independence of Lithuania. However, it was not until the outbreak of World War I in 1914 that the possibilities to put their ideas into effect presented themselves. In the autumn of 1915, Germany occupied Lithuania and detached it from the Russian Empire. In the years of World War I, as the geopolitical situation of Europe was undergoing radical changes, Lithuanian politicians rallied to protect their national interests. Responding to the possibilities created by the geopolitical situation, they acted pragmatically for the benefit of the country. The institution representing society, the Council of Lithuania, adopted the Declaration of Independence in Vilnius on 11 December 1917, and on 16 February 1918 supported it with the Act of Independence of democratic content. Lithuanians finally left the ranks of “belated nations” and turned from an object of history into a subject. After a long historical pause they became one of the nations that built the political history of Europe by their will, power and mind. The restoration of statehood and the first international recognition received from Reiser’s Germany in March 1918 initially did not change Lithuania’s factual position. For more than half a year, the fledgling modern state remained without its own institutions of central and local administration.It was still ruled and economically exploited by the German military and civil authorities. The situation slowly started to take a turn for the better in the autumn of 1918, as World War I was coming to a close. Germany began to loosen the grip of its occupational power. Meetings of the State Council of Lithuania1 and the German government regarding the takeover of power took place in late October 1918. At that time, the key decision to form the first Provisional Government of Lithuania was adopted in the capital Vilnius. On 2 November 1918, the State Council of Lithuania adopted the Provisional Constitution, and on November 5, a member of the Council, historian, professor Augustinas Voldemaras was charged with the task of forming the Provisional Government. Many of his colleagues and society at large were impressed by his consistent political activity in seeking Lithuania’s statehood, his excellent education and fluency in foreign languages, and his understanding of international affairs. To avoid long discussions and tension between different political trends in the State Council of Lithuania, the Provisional Government was formed not from representatives of different parties, but by creating “a working cabinet” from professionals of various fields. On 9 November 1918, the Cabinet formed by Voldemaras held its first official meeting. True, it was not until November 11, i.e. the day when World War I ended, that the Presidium of the State Council of Lithuania approved the Government. In a ceremonial session of the State Council of Lithuania in Vilnius on November 14, Voldemaras read the Government Declaration. He emphasised the complicated internal and international situation of Lithuania, the necessity of social reforms and a peaceful foreign policy.He believed in the optimistic further development of international relations outlined by the US President Thomas Woodrow Wilson: “The new world brings in new light. A happy message has arrived from the great American democracy - down with oppression, let the law rule. The programme of the US President Wilson is clear - both the small and the great nations have the same rights. There is no place for nations predators. The League of Nations is the guarantee of independence of every nation.” The Prime Minister formulated the Government’s nearest tasks rather abstractly and generally: he promised to restore the war-damaged national agriculture through state “credit organisations” and later implement an agrarian reform. While seeking to encourage the founding of other state institutions, he made plans to get ready for the parliamentary (Constituent Seimas) elections and prepare the Law of Territorial Administration. In the cities, where the majority of the population was non-Lithuanian, the Government planned to develop territorial administration in cooperation with organisations of national minorities. It also aimed to start the restoration of Vilnius University and create the education system. Along with the development of foreign trade and stabilisation of the country’s finances, the national currency was planned to be introduced. [...]. [Extract, p. 305-306]