Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday approved Social Democrat Inga Ruginienė as the country’s new prime minister, following the resignation of Gintautas Paluckas in July.
Lawmakers voted 78–35 in favour of her appointment, with 14 abstentions. Support came from 50 Social Democrats, 16 members of Nemunas Dawn, and nine MPs from the parliamentary group of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS) and the Christian Families Alliance. Three independents also backed her candidacy.
Ruginienė, 44, has served as social security and labour minister since last year. A political newcomer, she joined the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party in 2024 and entered parliament the same year. Before entering politics, she chaired the Confederation of Lithuanian Trade Unions.
Addressing lawmakers ahead of the vote, Ruginienė urged cooperation across party lines.
“My biggest dream is to stand before you again at the end of this term and say that together we accomplished very important work,” she said. “Compromise is a sustainable solution.”
She pledged that her first foreign visits as prime minister would be to Warsaw and Kyiv, underlining ties with Poland and Ukraine, and said she aimed to normalise relations with China.
Ruginienė now has up to 15 days to present a cabinet agreed with the president and to submit its programme for a vote.
The new government will be formed by the Social Democrats, Nemunas Dawn, and the LVŽS, as well as the Christian Families Alliance, which signed a coalition deal Monday. Together, the parties control 82 seats in the 141-member Seimas.
The coalition has already sparked opposition. On Tuesday, several thousand people rallied outside parliament in a protest dubbed the “Day of Shame”, criticising the inclusion of Nemunas Dawn and the Christian Families Alliance in the government.
Paluckas stepped down as prime minister in July after prosecutors launched two pre-trial investigations into his business activities.
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