Biography
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė assumed office on November 25, 2020, becoming the second woman in the nation’s history to serve in the position. As a trained economist, Prime Minister Šimonytė served as the Director of the Tax Department from 2002 to 2004, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania from 2004 to 2009, and the Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2012. In 2016, Prime Minister Šimonytė served in Lithuania's parliament, Seimas, for the Antakalnis constituency. In this position, Šimonytė served on the European Affairs Committee and was the chairperson of the Audit Committee. In 2020, Šimonytė was re-elected to her position, receiving over 60% of the vote in her constituency.
Šimonytė received her Masters degree in Economics from the Faculty of Economics at Vilnius University in 1998, and her Bachelor degree in Business Administration and Management from the Faculty of Economics at Vilnius University in 1996. Prime Minister Šimonytė later served as President of the Council at her alma mater, Vilnius University, from 2014 to 2016. She was reelected to Parliament in the 2020 parliamentary election, where the Homeland Union won a plurality of seats. On 1 January 2021, Šimonytė took over the presidency of the Baltic Council of Ministers for a term of one year. Prime Minister Šimonytė speaks Lithuanian, English, Russian, Polish, and basic Swedish. Prime Minister Šimonytė received the Cross of Officer of the Order of Vytautas the Great in 2015, and the Clear Wave award for transparent and responsible activities in 2012. |