Kęstutis Budrys, deputy director of the Lithuanian State Security Department (VSD), will take over as President Gitanas Nausėda’s chief security adviser, the president’s office said on Wednesday.
Budrys will replace the president’s current security adviser Darius Kuliešius in mid-February.
“I thank Darius Kuliešius, thanks to whom the Law on Corruption Prevention and important decisions by the State Defence Council were drafted and adopted,” Nausėda said in a press release.
“In the wake of the complex geopolitical situation in the region, Kestutis Budrys’ experience is very much needed when dealing with Lithuania’s national security issues,” he added.
Kuliešius was delegated to the president’s office under the Interior Service Statute and is leaving the position due to the expiration of his maximum possible term of service, according to the press release.
Budrys, who holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Vilnius University, started his career in the intelligence service in 2002 and has served as VSD’s deputy director since 2015.
In the past, he also worked as an advisor in former President Dalia Grybauskaitė’s national security team.
Kuliešius, a lawyer by education, joined Nausėda’s team in August 2019. He is not the first one to leave the president’s office this year.
In January, Raminta Stanaitytė-Česnulienė, the president’s chief communication adviser said she will leave the office in mid-February.
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