Seimo pirmininkas submits Valentinavičius as candidate for intelligence controller

Seimo pirmininkas (Speaker of the Seimas) Juozas Olekas has submitted Vytautas Valentinavičius as a candidate for the position of intelligence controller, signing the relevant decree on Friday, LRT reports.

Valentinavičius is a public policy expert and a researcher at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU). Earlier this year, he was delegated to the State Progress Council. From 2014 to 2024, he worked at the Seimas Controllers’ Institution as a senior advisor and later as head of the Human Rights Division.

The Seimas established the Intelligence Controller institution in December 2021. The first intelligence controller, Nortautas Statkus, took office in April 2022. However, the law stipulates that the institution must have two intelligence controllers. The Speaker of the Seimas is responsible for submitting candidates to the parliament.

The intelligence controller oversees the legality of intelligence institutions’ activities, examines the justification and legality of their methods, investigates potential human rights violations, checks the legality of personal data processing, reviews complaints from intelligence officers, provides recommendations to intelligence institutions, and refers to pre-trial investigation institutions or the prosecutor’s office if there are signs of a possible criminal offense.

The news was first reported by the Delfi news portal.