Foreign minister Budrys finalises his team with four deputy ministers

Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has completed forming his political team, appointing four deputy ministers, as reported by the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT.

Sigitas Mitkus and Vidmantas Verbickas will continue in their roles, while Kristupas Vaitiekūnas, former finance minister in the 20th Government, and Lina Rukštelienė will join as new appointees. Aistė Stakėnienė will remain as the ministry’s chancellor.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Rukštelienė brings over 30 years of diplomatic experience, including bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, security policy, EU affairs, strategic management, and high-level state representation.

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius announced earlier this week that Audra Plepytė would no longer serve as a deputy foreign minister in Budrys’ team. The new government, led by Sinkevičius, officially assumed office on Tuesday after its programme was approved and the cabinet members took their oaths in the Seimas.

The ruling coalition consists of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, the Democrats “For Lithuania” union, and the Lithuanian Farmers, Greens and Christian Families Union fractions in the Seimas. The previous government led by Inga Ruginienė stepped down after the governing coalition was reshuffled.