Saulius Skvernelis, a former police chief, former interior minister, former prime minister and leader of the Democratic Union “For Lithuania”, has been elected the speaker of the 14th Seimas, Lithuanian parliament.
In a secret ballot, 107 newly sworn-in members of the Seimas voted in favour of his candidacy, 19 against, ten abstained and one ballot paper was invalidated.
The Seimas speakership for Skvernelis has previously been agreed on in a coalition treaty between the Social Democrats (LSDP), his own party, and the Nemunas Dawn which formed the ruling bloc.
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Before the vote, conservative Mindaugas Lingė said that Skvernelis’ liberal predecessor Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen had set the bar high and that it would be a challenge for the new speaker to live up to it.
Meanwhile, fellow Democrat Linas Kukuraitis insisted that Skvernelis had repeatedly demonstrated his ability to lead the country, successfully implement reforms, and uphold principles and values.
Born in Kaunas in 1970, Skvernelis graduated from the Jonas Jablonskis Secondary School in Kapsukas (now Marijampolė), obtained a degree in automotive and automotive engineering and a qualification as a mechanical engineer from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University in 1994, and two decades later received a Master of Law degree from Mykolas Romeris University.
In 1994, Skvernelis joined the Lithuanian Police Academy as a lecturer at the Department of Professional Tactics, and four years later he moved to the Trakai Police Commissariat, where he was a commissioner inspector of the Traffic Police. In 1999, he joined the Police Department, later became commissioner of the Traffic Patrols Squad of the Lithuanian Public Police Bureau, commander of the Lithuanian Police Escort Squad, and head of the Lithuanian Police Traffic Surveillance Service.
In 2008, Skvernelis became deputy commissioner general of the Police, and in 2011 he was appointed head of the Lithuanian Police.
In 2014, he was appointed minister of the interior after the resignation of Alfonsas Dailius Barakauskas following a corruption scandal.
As interior minister, Skvernelis was among the most popular cabinet members, competing with President Dalia Grybauskaitė and Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius for the title of the most trusted politician.
He got in the spotlight several times for his feud with the then Speaker of the Seimas Loreta Graužinienė.
In 2016, Skvernelis run for parliament with the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS). The party won a landslide and he became the prime minister, even though he never joined the party. In 2021, Skvernelis had a falling out with its leader Ramūnas Karbauskis and founded the Democratic Union “For Lithuania”, taking a number of LVŽS members with him.
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