Lileikis’s photos reveal a different side of Valdas Adamkus
Tuesday 3rd November 2026 on 13:30 in
Lithuania
Photographer Paulius Lileikis’s archive shows Valdas Adamkus laughing, going about daily life and displaying an unusual sternness, LRT reported as Lithuania marks the former president’s centenary.
Lileikis followed Adamkus through his camera lens for more than 20 years, from his return to Lithuania as an environmental expert to the end of his presidential term. He recalled Adamkus as markedly different from other leaders of the time, including Vytautas Landsbergis and Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas.
Lileikis’s first photograph of Adamkus dates to autumn 1988, on the Hill of Three Crosses in Vilnius. Students and archaeologists were excavating the site of a monument that had been blown up. The image also captured Vilnius city secretary Algirdas Vileikis and Adamkus, who was then visiting from the United States. Lileikis described it as the beginning of his work in photojournalism.
In 1989, he photographed Adamkus at an event marking the 410th anniversary of Vilnius University, alongside the university’s rector, Jonas Kubilius. That year marked a major step in Lileikis’s photography career, though he said he missed the Baltic Way by a day after travelling to the United States to buy equipment.
Adamkus had emigrated to the United States during the Second World War, where he built a career in federal service and became a respected environmental expert. He also maintained Lithuanian cultural life in the diaspora and frequently visited Lithuania from 1972 as an environmental specialist.
After Lithuania restored its independence, Adamkus appeared alongside Stasys Lozoraitis, who represented the diaspora in the 1993 presidential election. Lileikis said Adamkus stood out for his clothing, hairstyle and bearing. He also described the former president as reserved, making him more difficult to photograph than Landsbergis or Brazauskas.
Among the archive’s less typical images are several from a 1997 meeting with students during the presidential campaign. Lileikis said he had rarely seen Adamkus so cheerful.