Stasys Lozoraitis was named by Lithuanians as the “president of hope” (Vilties prezidentas) and “the only chance to try again”. But in the first presidential elections in 1993, he lost out to a former member of the Lithuanian Communist Party – Algirdas Brazauskas.
“I worked for Lithuania for 50 years, did not serve [in the army], did not make an oath to another country, and I was born under a Lithuanian passport,” proclaimed Stasys Lozoraitis, as he arrived back to a free country in 1993.
Years after serving as Lithuania’s unofficial ambassador in Washington while the country was still occupied by the Soviet Union, he represented what many hoped would be the country’s turn to the West and a final break with Moscow.
The times were turbulent. After declaring independence in March 1990, Lithuania was hit by an economic blockade. Industry and livelihoods suffered, while the people had to defend their fledgling freedom from Russia’s attempt to retake power during the events of January 1991 that claimed 14 lives.
“He is worthy of being remembered forever because he loved Lithuania, and worked throughout his early life and adulthood,” said former Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus. “I believe that he deserves eternal respect from Lithuanians.”
Archive photos show Lithuanians giving a warm welcome to him and his Italian wife Daniela. Lozoraitis later recalled being handed letters, outlining wishes as if he was Santa Claus.
Valdas Adamkus was Lozoraitis’ friend and was later asked to organise his presidential campaign as the country was to hold its first presidential election in February 1993.
However, circumstances were stacked against Lozoraitis. The country’s constitution was adopted just several months prior, in October 1992, and the very first Seimas had only been elected. No one truly knew what a president was and what he could – or could not – do.
The election was to take place within months and Lozoraitis had even less time than his opponents, as he had just returned from the United States.
“He only knew about Lithuania because of his parents’ love for the country. He fell in love with it, but he was unknown to the Lithuanian society,” recalled Adamkus. “You end up in a position like this, facing the voters of Lithuania, and you can’t convince them in a few months that everything will be different.”
According to Adamkus, it is not surprising that Lozoraitis lost, as even 30 years later, there are still people that say they miss the Soviet Union. Lozoraitis was supported by many of the younger generation, but it was not enough.
“We sat down one evening and I told him, ‘we can’t and we won’t win the election, because the people don’t know you well enough',” recalled Adamkus. “[Algirdas Brazauskas] is well known, he is supported by the entire nomenclature. We will not succeed in this election.”
Finding a people’s candidate
According to surveys, Lozoraitis‘ opponent Brazauskas was ahead by 10 points before the election. The final results revealed an even wider gap, with Lozoraitis receiving 38 percent, and Brazauskas 60 percent of the vote.
The former communist and now a social democrat of the Lithuanian Democratic Labour Party won, because people trusted him to solve economic issues, said Lithuania’s former prime minister and organiser of Brazauskas‘ campaign, Gediminas Kirkilas.
Brazauskas knew every single region in Lithuania well, said Kirkilas. He was a charismatic figure that would visit his voters often, winning their support.
“He knew every factory, where and what was built,” said Krikilas. “People would simply not fit inside the halls [to see him].”
At first, Brazauskas did not want to run and the Lithuanian Democratic Labour Party considered proposing the poet Justinas Marcinkevičius as their supported candidate. The party believed that, in a polarised country, a neutral figure would unite the society.
The earlier referendum revealed that the people were leaning more towards the left, according to Kirkilas. Lozoraitis was then also supported by the right as well as Vytautas Landsbergis, the leader of the Sąjūdis (Reform) movement that had delivered the country’s independence.
Lithuanian politics in the 1990s, as was common at the time, was punctured by incidents and violence. Conservative supporters would come to Brazauskas’ rally to yell and talk loudly over the candidate, according to Kirkilas. Meanwhile, there was once even an explosion during Lozoraitis’ meeting with people of Šiauliai in northern Lithuania.
Brazauskas was convinced that the society needed someone neutral from the Sąjūdis, someone who could unite the people. In the end, they did not convince Marcinkevičius to run for president, said Kirkilas. Brazauskas then stepped in.
Political literacy
In 1993, both Sąjūdis and the conservative political forces were going through a crisis, according to Aistė Deimantaitė, a researcher of Lithuania’s political history.
“Other members of the Sąjūdis started disliking Landsbergis’ actions. They saw him as trying to be an autocrat, a second Smetona,” the autocratic leader of Lithuania during the interwar years, according to Deimantaitė.
Brazauskas appeared as an appealing figure to people that were getting tired of decommunisation. While former communist leaders in other post-Soviet countries stayed on the sidelines, Brazauskas was very much present, retaining a moderate, pragmatic stance.
The conservatives then feared that Brazauskas would be pro-Russian, but that proved to be unfounded. While he did make compromises with Moscow, Lithuania did not join the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Besides, the Lithuanian Communist Party was the first one to break away from its centre in Moscow, said Deimantaitė.
Lozoraitis and Brazauskas also differed in their visions for Lithuania.
Lozoraitis aimed to transform the country into a Western democracy with a new “political culture” and not merely reform the farms like Brazauskas would promise, according to Deimantaitė. But in 1993, political culture was not the first thing on voters' minds.
“Not only do people need to understand that they have power, but that they also need to have political education,” said Deimantaitė. “They need to understand that a president is not some leader that can move mountains, [...] that there are political parties, that a party system exists.”
The candidates also exuded different images: Lozoraitis appeared like an American politician by smiling and waving. People were more attracted to Brazauskas, who appeared more "solid" and as a man who would solve their problems, according to Deimantė.
Lozoraitis, meanwhile, “brought American culture, which is completely different, which may be liked, but still different”, she added.
President and hope
According to Kirkilas, people found stability in Brazauskas.
“People would associate Brazauskas with support [and] stability, which they had looked for,” said Kirkilas.
Survey carried out by the Vilnius Institute of Policy Analysis (VIPA) in November 2020 revealed that Brazauskas, who passed away in 2010, is still very well received, with 40 percent of respondents agreeing with the statement that “it was better under his presidency”.
However, Lozoraitis could have still won under the right circumstances, according to Deimantaitė.
“Nowadays, such a short presidential campaign is unimaginable. If there was more time, people could have known him better,” she said. “It’s not that we weren’t worth it, we weren’t mature enough.”
Lithuania did eventually choose a Western-oriented president.
“When the economy is brought back to order, Lithuanians start to understand that it is time [...[ to go global. Adamkus fit well here,” said Deimantaitė. “People felt that they needed to leave the communist understanding of politics behind. We want to be members of the EU and NATO.”
In 1993, there were no such ideas, she added.
The evening Adamkus realised that Lozoraitis would not win, he gave the following advice: “We will show to Lithuanians during the campaign what democracy is [...] and our vision for future Lithuania.”
“And we held on to that thought until the election,” added Adamkus.
Brazauskas served one term as president, from 1993 until 1998, and later was Lithuania's prime minister twice. He passed away on June 26, 2010. Lozoraitis never became the head of state, dying in the US soon after the election, on June 13, 1994. He was reburied in Lithuania’s Kaunas in 1999.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
