Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė on Friday nominated Deputy Minister Vytautas Šilinskas for the position of social security and labour minister and MP Radvilė Morkunaitė-Mikulėnienė for education, science and sport minister, the government said.
President Gitanas Nausėda plans to meet with the candidates on Tuesday.
The position of education, science and sport minister has been vacant since April when Gintautas Jakštas resigned. Meanwhile, Social Security and Labor Minister Monika Navickienė resigned last week over her suspicious connections.
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Šilinskas currently serves as a social security and labour deputy minister, and Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė is an MP, chair of the parliamentary Committee on European Affairs, and elder of the ruling conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats political group in the Seimas.
“Both Radvilė and Vytautas are members and active participants on the political team that has implemented changes during this parliamentary term. I have no doubt that both of them will complete the work planned for this term with honour as they have both the necessary political experience and the capacity and willingness to engage in discussions with communities in these areas,” Šimonytė said in a statement.
At the Education Ministry, she said, the most important task ahead of the parliamentary election in October will be to prepare for the next school year, taking into account, among other things, the positive experiences and mistakes of the 2023–2024 period.
Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, 40, has served as an MP since 2016 and was a member of the European Parliament in 2009–2014.
According to the prime minister, in the field of social security and labour, most of the planned legislation has been passed or will be passed soon, so it will be necessary to focus on the smooth practical implementation of the adopted ideas.
At the Social Security and Labour Ministry, Šilinskas, 38, is responsible for labour law, the labour market, occupational safety and health, and social insurance (except pensions), and is in charge of the social security fund SoDra, the Employment Service, and the State Labour Inspectorate.
Šilinskas previously worked as a lawyer and is a labour law specialist.
Ministers in Lithuania are appointed by the president on the prime minister’s nomination.
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