xpenditures:

5% of GDP (2005)

Government
Lithuania

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania
conventional short form: Lithuania
local long form: Lietuvos Respublika
local short form: Lietuva
former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type:

parliamentary democracy

Capital:

name: Vilnius
geographic coordinates: 54 41 N, 25 19 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:

10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno,
Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu,
Utenos, Vilniaus

Independence:

11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet
Union)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 was
the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and
established its statehood; 11 March 1990 was the date it declared
its independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution:

adopted 25 October 1992

Legal system:

based on civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the
constitutional court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Valdas ADAMKUS (since 12 July 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Andrius KUBILIUS (since 27
November 2008)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the
nomination of the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held 13 and 27 June 2004
(next to be held in June 2009); prime minister appointed by the
president on the approval of the Parliament
election results: Valdas ADAMKUS elected president; percent of vote
- Valdas ADAMKUS 52.2%, Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE 47.8%; Andrius KUBILIUS
approved by Parliament 89-27 with 16 abstentions

Legislative branch:

unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats; 71 members are elected
by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation;
serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 and 26 October 2008 (next to be held October
2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - TS 19.7%, TPP 15.1%, TT
12.7%, LSDP 11.7%, KDP+J 9%, LRLS 5.7%, LCS 5.3%, LLRA 4.8%, LVLS
3.7%, NS 3.6%, other 8.7%; seats by faction