The colourful former politician known for his protests against high-society balls, has passed away aged 78.
The news was confirmed to LRT.lt by Kaunas City Municipality.
Šustauskas was admitted to hospital in April and transferred to a rehabilitation ward in May.
Formerly a sailor, Šustauskas launched his political career in the late 1990s as a self-appointed champion of the poor.
In 1997, Šustauskas organised the “march of beggars” on Vilnius, protesting poverty and growing inequality in Lithuania.
The self-styled “king of the beggars” followed it up in 1999 with a theatrical protest rally outside the Vilnius Town Hall which was hosting a Vienna Ball, one of the first high-society charity events in Lithuania. The following year, the event was cancelled over disruption threats from Šustauskas and his followers.
Šustauskas tapped into the widespread resentment over poverty and growing inequality in Lithuania. He had been a member of Kaunas City Council since 1995 and, in 2000, was elected the city’s mayor.
That same year, he was elected to the national parliament, Seimas, where he stayed for one term. Subsequently, his political career waned, although he continued to participate in numerous nationalist and reactionary protest events, for example, against LGBT+ prides. At one point, Šustauskas was making a living as a taxi driver in Kaunas.
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