Colonel Mindaugas Mažonas, former commander of Lithuania’s Special Operations Forces, is expected to be appointed head of the military intelligence, LRT and Lrytas.lt reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
Mažonas would replace Colonel Elegijus Paulavičius as head of the Second Investigation Department. The latter was dismissed by Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė earlier on Wednesday.
Mažonas headed the Special Operations Forces from 2018 to 2023 and is currently serving as Lithuania’s defence attaché to the United States and Canada.
Šakalienė told BNS on Wednesday that she had already selected a candidate for the post and had agreed on the choice with President Gitanas Nausėda. The new military intelligence chief will be appointed in August.
Paulavičius was transferred to the professional military service reserve on Wednesday, despite having submitted a request in mid-June to be dismissed from professional military service in August when his term of office was due to expire.
The director of the department is appointed by order of the defence minister.
Earlier on Wednesday, Šakalienė told reporters that she made the decision to dismiss Paulavičius due to an ongoing internal review of the department, which focuses on the work environment.
She said the review had been launched earlier on Wednesday.
The defence minister said that she had informed the president, as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, as her immediate superior, and Chief of Defence General Raimundas Vaikšnoras about her decision to transfer Paulavičius to the reserve.
The Second Investigation Department is one of Lithuania’s two intelligence services, alongside the State Security Department (VSD), and is responsible for ensuring and strengthening national security in the defence sector.
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