Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on Tuesday signed a decree approving the cabinet of Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė, but left the environment and energy minister posts unfilled for now.
Nausėda made the decision despite receiving nominations for all 14 ministries. The environment and energy portfolios belong to the coalition partner Nemunas Dawn party under the governing agreement.
The party had put forward Environment Minister Povilas Poderskis for another term and lawyer Mindaugas Jablonskis as energy minister. Their names were included in Ruginienė’s submission to the president.
However, the nominations emerged only on Tuesday, just as the constitutional deadline approached for presenting the government’s program and full cabinet to the parliament. Earlier in the day, Nausėda said he could not endorse last-minute candidates without first meeting them. He also noted that he lacked security clearance information on Jablonskis.
After last autumn’s parliamentary elections, Nausėda declared he would not approve Nemunas Dawn party members as ministers, a stance that complicated the party’s search for candidates.
The new cabinet will formally assume power once parliament endorses its program, likely next week, giving the coalition time to agree with the president on candidates for the two vacant posts.
The lineup includes Vaida Aleknavičienė as culture minister; Kęstutis Budrys continuing as foreign minister; and Edvinas Grikšas as economy and innovation minister.
Marija Jakubauskienė remains health minister, Vladislav Kondratovič continues as interior minister, and Andrius Palionis has been appointed agriculture minister. Education Minister Raminta Popovienė and Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė will also stay in their posts.
New appointments include Rita Tamašunienė as justice minister, Juras Taminskas as transport minister, Kristupas Vaitiekūnas as finance minister and Jūratė Zailskienė as minister of social security and labour.
Ruginienė’s cabinet is being appointed following the resignation of Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas earlier this year. Over the summer, the governing coalition was reshaped to include the Social Democrats, the Nemunas Dawn party, and a joint faction of the Greens and Farmers Union with the Christian Families Alliance.
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