The Lithuanian parliament on Thursday approved the appointment of Gintautas Palutskas, deputy leader of the Social Democratic Party (LDP), which won the country's elections, as the next prime minister of Lithuania. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda then appointed Gintautas Palutskas as prime minister on Thursday, UNN reports, citing Politico and LRT.
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According to the president's decree, the Social Democrat is instructed to form a cabinet of ministers within 15 days and present the government's program to the Sejm.
Palutskas, a former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, became prime minister after party leader Vilija Blinkevičiūtė decided that she would rather remain a member of the European Parliament than become prime minister.
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After winning the elections in late October, the LDP announced that it would form a coalition with the right-wing Dawn of the Neman party and the center-left For Lithuania party. The inclusion of Dawn of the Neman - whose leader Remigijus Žemaitaitaitis is on trial for anti-Semitic statements - sparked protests last week. On Wednesday, Prosecutor General Nida Grunskene asked the parliament to strip Zemaitaitaitis of his immunity.
Palutskas, a 45-year-old computer scientist, was the leader of the LDP from 2017 to 2021 and the deputy mayor of Vilnius from 2015 to 2019.