Lithuania bids farewell to former prime minister Prunskienė

Lithuania is holding a state funeral for Kazimira Danutė Prunskienė, a signatory of the Independence Act and the first prime minister of independent Lithuania, LRT reported.

At 1 p.m. on Thursday, an urn containing her remains will be taken from St John’s Church to Antakalnis Cemetery, where she will be buried at Signatories’ Hill.

An honour guard gathered around the urn at noon as friends and former political allies paid their final respects.

Arvydas Juozaitis, a member of the Sąjūdis Initiative Group, said during the ceremony that Prunskienė and Meilė Lukšienė were the only women in the group. He highlighted Prunskienė’s visits to the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, where she developed relations with Western countries during Moscow’s economic blockade.

“You became the most prominent woman of the Sąjūdis and national revival period. It was remarkable how you emerged in that harsh environment, among men who rarely let women in,” Juozaitis said.

Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, a signatory of the Independence Act and a member of the European Parliament, said Prunskienė’s role in Lithuania’s history could not be denied, despite controversy surrounding allegations of cooperation with the KGB.

“Being the first is a difficult challenge, especially at a turning point between eras. There was everything: an economic blockade and difficult reforms, meetings with world leaders to break the blockade initiated by the Soviets,” Andriukaitis said, describing her time as prime minister.

LRT recalled that Prunskienė died in her 84th year. Relatives held a private farewell ceremony on Saturday, while officials, former political allies and ministers visited the urn on Wednesday and Thursday.

Prunskienė, who had taught economics, entered politics through the Lithuanian Sąjūdis movement after previously belonging to the Communist Party of Lithuania. She served as a deputy in the Supreme Council, the Reconstituent Seimas, from 1990 to 1992 and was Lithuania’s first prime minister from 1990 to 1991.

She was also one of the founders of the Women’s Party, which later changed its name and merged with the Farmers’ Party. Prunskienė served as agriculture minister and ran for president in 2004, reaching the second round and receiving 46.66 percent of the vote, behind Valdas Adamkus. She also unsuccessfully contested the 2009 election.

Prunskienė left politics in 2012 after suffering a stroke and undergoing brain surgery. Her health prevented her from returning to public life after rehabilitation, and her family cared for her.