Andrius Kubilius

Andrius Kubilius was born on December 8, 1956, in Kaunas. He earned a degree in physics from Vilnius University, where he worked as a research fellow for some time after graduation. In the second half of the 1980s, he joined the Lithuanian national liberation movement and became one of the founders of Sąjūdis, the organization that led the struggle for the restoration of Lithuania's independence from the USSR. After independence was restored, he was elected as a member of the Seimas from the conservative party Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, which he led for a long time. He twice served as Prime Minister of Lithuania – first in the late 1990s, and again during the global financial crisis of 2008–2012, when his cabinet implemented a strict austerity program to maintain the stability of the Lithuanian economy. After his terms as prime minister ended, he continued his political activities in the Seimas and the European Parliament, consistently advocating for strengthening the defense capabilities of the Baltic states and supporting Ukraine. In December 2024, he joined the new composition of the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen, receiving the newly created portfolio of European Commissioner for Defence and Space.