List of rulers of Lithuania

The following is a list of rulers over Lithuania—Grand Dukes, Kings, Presidents, and other heads of authority—over historical Lithuanian territory. The timeline includes Lithuania as a sovereign entity or legitimately part of a greater sovereign entity, as well as Lithuania under control or occupation of an outside authority (i.e. Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic). The incumbents and office-holders are listed by names most commonly used in English language. Where appropriate, the alternatives in Lithuanian, Ruthenian (later Belarusian) and Polish are included.

The state of Lithuania was formed in the 1230s: when threatened by the Livonian Order in the north and the Teutonic Knights in the west, the Baltic tribes united under the leadership of Mindaugas. He became the only crowned King of Lithuania. His state became known as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After Grand Duke Jogaila became also King of Poland in 1386, the two states became more closely connected, and from 1440 both were ruled by a common ruler. In 1569 the Union of Lublin was signed and a new entity—the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth—emerged. The commonwealth was partitioned in 1795 and Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire until 16 February 1918. The Council of Lithuania was able to establish the country's sovereignty only in 1919, after the end of World War I. The first republic of Lithuania existed until 1940, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union. During the Soviet-German War, Lithuania was occupied by Nazi Germany. In 1944, as Germany was losing the war, Russia re-occupied Lithuania and established the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare independence. The restored Republic of Lithuania is a democratic republic, a member of both the European Union and NATO.

Kingdom of Lithuania (1253–1263)

Main article: Kingdom of Lithuania

Title: King of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos karalius). Dates are approximate because of scant written sources.

House of Mindaugas (1253–1263)

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
King Mindaugas 1236–1253 (as Grand Duke) 1253–1263 (as King)		c. 1203 Son of mythological Ringaudas	NN, sister of Morta Morta	1263 Aglona Assassinated by Treniota and Daumantas Aged about 60

Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1263–1569)

Main article: Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Title: Grand Duke (Lithuanian: didysis kunigaikštis; Belarusian: vialiki kniaź; Polish: wielki książę). Dates are approximate because of scant written sources.

House of Mindaugas (1263–1267)

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Grand Duke Treniota 1263–1264		Unknown	Unknown	1264 Murdered by servants loyal to Mindaugas' son Vaišvilkas
Grand Duke Vaišvilkas 1264–1267		Unknown Son of Mindaugas and Morta	Unknown	1268 Was murdered by brother Lev

House of Monomakh (1267–1269)

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Grand Duke Shvarn Lithuanian: Švarnas 1267–1269		Unknown	NN, daughter of Mindaugas	c. 1271−1279

House of Mindaugas (1269–1285)

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Grand Duke Traidenis 1270–1282		Unknown	Ona of Masovia	c. 1282
Grand Duke Daumantas 1282–1285		Unknown	Unknown	3 March 1285 Died in a battle by Tver

House of Gediminas (1285–1440)

Name	Portrait	Arms	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Grand Duke Butigeidis 1285–1291		None known	Unknown	Unknown	1291
Grand Duke Butvydas 1291–1295		None known	Unknown	Unknown	c. 1294–1295
Grand Duke Vytenis 1295–1316		None known	1260 Son of Butvydas	Vikinda	1316 Aged 56
Grand Duke Gediminas 1316–1341		None known	c. 1275 Son of Butvydas	Jaunė	c. 1341 Raudonė Aged about 66
Grand Duke Jaunutis 1341–1345		None known	c. 1306−1309 Son of Gediminas and Jaunė	Unknown	c. 1366 Aged 57−60
Grand Duke (Diarchy with Kęstutis) Algirdas 1345–1377			c. 1296 Son of Gediminas and Jaunė	Maria of Vitebsk Uliana of Tver	c. 1377 Maišiagala Aged about 81
Grand Duke (Diarchy with Kęstutis) Jogaila Algirdaitis 1377–1381			c. 1352−1362 Son of Algirdas and Uliana of Tver	Jadwiga of Poland Anna of Cilli Elizabeth Granowska Sophia of Halshany	1 June 1434 Gródek Jagielloński Aged 72−82
Grand Duke Kęstutis 1381–1382			c. 1297 Son of Gediminas and Jaunė	Birutė	1382 Kreva Murdered by the order of Jogaila while imprisoned Aged 84–85
Grand Duke Jogaila Algirdaitis 1382–1434			c. 1352−1362 Son of Algirdas and Uliana of Tver	Jadwiga of Poland Anna of Cilli Elizabeth Granowska Sophia of Halshany	1 June 1434 Gródek Jagielloński Aged 72−82
Act of Kreva signed in 1385 — Poland and Lithuania de jure are ruled by one monarch.
King of Poland and Grand Duke Jogaila Algirdaitis 1382–1434			c. 1352−1362 Son of Algirdas and Uliana of Tver	Jadwiga of Poland Anna of Cilli Elizabeth Granowska Sophia of Halshany	1 June 1434 Gródek Jagielloński Aged 72−82
From 1392 to 1440, all Grand Dukes of Lithuania de jure acted as regents of the King of Poland.
Grand Duke (King-elect of Lithuania) Vytautas the Great 1392–1430			c. 1350 Son of Kęstutis and Birutė	Anna Uliana Olshanska	27 October 1430 Trakai Aged about 80
Grand Duke Švitrigaila 1430–1432			Before 1370 Son of Algirdas and Uliana of Tver	Anna of Tver	10 February 1452 Lutsk Aged about 82
Grand Duke Sigismund Kęstutaitis Lithuanian: Žygimantas Kęstutaitis 1432–1440			1365 Son of Kęstutis and Birutė	Unknown	20 March 1440 Trakai Murdered by supporters of Švitrigaila Aged 75

House of Jagiellon (1440–1569)

The act of personal union with Poland was signed as early as 1385; however, the continuous line of common rulers of the two countries started only with Casimir IV (even then, Polish and Lithuanians twice selected different rulers following the death of an earlier common monarch, but the Lithuanian one always eventually assumed the Polish throne). The monarchs retained separate titles for both parts of the state, and their numbering was kept separate. The Jagiellon dynasty was a direct continuation of the Gediminids.

Name	Portrait	Arms	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
King of Poland and Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon Lithuanian: Kazimieras Jogailaitis 1440–1492			30 November 1427 Son of Jogaila Algirdaitis and Sophia of Halshany	Elisabeth of Austria	7 June 1492 Old Grodno Castle Aged 64
King of Poland and Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon Lithuanian: Aleksandras Jogailaitis 1492–1506			5 August 1461 Son of Kazimieras Jogailaitis and Elisabeth of Austria	Helena of Moscow	19 August 1506 Vilnius Aged 45
King of Poland and Grand Duke Sigismund I the Old Lithuanian: Žygimantas Senasis 1506–1548			1 January 1467 Son of Kazimieras Jogailaitis and Elisabeth of Austria	Barbara Zápolya Bona Sforza	1 April 1548 Kraków Aged 81
King of Poland and Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus Lithuanian: Žygimantas Augustas 1548–1572			1 August 1520 Son of Žygimantas the Old and Bona Sforza	Elisabeth of Austria Barbara Radziwiłł Catherine of Austria	7 July 1572 Knyszyn Aged 51

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)

Main article: Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was established by the Union of Lublin in 1569. The elected King of Poland was automatically a Grand Duke of Lithuania (until then the Lithuanian dukedom was hereditary). The first common ruler of both countries was Sigismund II Augustus. Following the partitions in 1772, 1793, and 1795, the commonwealth ceased to exist and Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire for 123 years. There are some gaps in the timeline as it took a while to elect a new king. The first Grand Duke elected after the Gediminid line became extinct and after the Valois fled back to France was Stephen Báthory, who had made an effort to be recognized as Grand Duke of Lithuania by establishing Vilnius University.

Title: King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Lithuanian: Lenkijos karalius ir Lietuvos didysis kunigaikštis

Polish: Król Polski, wielki książę litewski

Latin: Rex Poloniae et Magnus Dux Lituaniae

Name	Portrait	Arms	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death	Claim	House
King of Poland and Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus Lithuanian: Žygimantas Augustas 1 July 1569 – 7 July 1572 (24 years, 98 days)			1 August 1520 Kraków Son of Žygimantas the Old and Bona Sforza	(3) Elisabeth of Austria Barbara Radziwiłł Catherine of Austria	7 July 1572 Knyszyn Aged 51	Heredetary First monarch to introduce elective monarchy	Jagiellon
King of Poland and Grand Duke Henry Lithuanian: Henrikas Valua 16 May 1573 – 12 May 1575 (1 year, 362 days)			19 September 1551 Fontainebleau Son of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici	(1) Louise of Lorraine, no children	2 August 1589 Saint-Cloud Aged 37	Elected Left Poland in June 1574 to succeed his brother in France Interregnum until 1575	Valois
Queen of Poland and Grand Dutchess Anna Lithuanian: Ona Jogailaitė 15 December 1575 – 19 August 1587 (de facto) (11 years, 248 days) – 9 September 1596 (de jure) (20 years, 270 days)			18 October 1523 Kraków Daughter of Sigismund I and Bona Sforza	(1) Stephen Báthory, no children	9 September 1596 Warsaw Aged 72	Elected co-monarch with Stephen Báthory Sole ruler until Báthory's arrival and coronation in May 1576 Ruled after husband's death until her nephew was elected	Jagiellon
King of Poland and Grand Duke Stephen Báthory Lithuanian: Steponas Batoras 1 May 1576 – 12 December 1586 (10 years, 226 days)			27 September 1533 Szilágysomlyó (Șimleu Silvaniei) Son of Stephen Báthory of Somlyó and Catherine Telegdi	(1) Anna Jagiellon, no children	12 December 1586 Grodno Aged 53	Elected as co-monarch with Anna Jagiellon Previously Prince of Transylvania	Báthory
King of Poland and Grand Duke Sigismund III Lithuanian: Zigmantas Vaza 19 August 1587 – 30 April 1632 (44 years, 256 days)			20 June 1566 Gripsholm Son of John III of Sweden and Catherine Jagiellon	(1) Anne of Austria (2) Constance of Austria	30 April 1632 Warsaw Aged 65	Elected, nephew of Anna Jagiellon Transferred capital from Kraków to Warsaw Hereditary King of Sweden until deposition in 1599	Vasa
King of Poland and Grand Duke Władysław IV also Ladislaus IV Lithuanian: Vladislovas Vaza 8 November 1632 – 20 May 1648 (15 years, 195 days)			9 June 1595 Łobzów Son of Sigismund III and Anne of Austria	(1) Cecilia Renata of Austria (2) Marie Louise Gonzaga	20 May 1648 Merkinė Aged 52	Elective succession Also titular King of Sweden and elected Tsar of Russia (1610–1613) when the Polish army captured Moscow	Vasa
King of Poland and Grand Duke John II Casimir Lithuanian: Jonas Kazimieras Vaza 20 November 1648 – 16 September 1668 (19 years, 302 days)			22 March 1609 Kraków Son of Sigismund III and Constance of Austria	(1) Marie Louise Gonzaga (2) Claudine Françoise Mignot (morganatic marriage)	16 December 1672 Nevers Aged 63	Elective succession, succeeded half-brother Previously a cardinal Titular King of Sweden Abdicated	Vasa
King of Poland and Grand Duke Michael I Lithuanian: Mykolas Kaributas Višnioveckis 19 June 1669 – 10 November 1673 (4 years, 145 days)			31 May 1640 Biały Kamień Son of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki and Gryzelda Konstancja Zamoyska	(1) Eleonora Maria of Austria, no children	10 November 1673 Lwów Aged 33	Elected Born into nobility of mixed heritage, the son of a military commander and governor	Wiśniowiecki
King of Poland and Grand Duke John III Sobieski Lithuanian: Jonas Sobieskis 19 May 1674 – 17 June 1696 (22 years, 30 days)			17 August 1629 Olesko Son of Jakub Sobieski and Teofila Zofia	(1) Marie Casimire d'Arquien, 13 children	17 June 1696 Wilanów Aged 66	Elected Born into nobility A successful military commander	Sobieski
King of Poland and Grand Duke Augustus II Lithuanian: Augustas II Stiprusis 15 September 1697 – 1706 (1st reign, 9 years)			12 May 1670 Dresden Son of John George III and Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark	(1) Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, 1 son by wife	1 February 1733 Warsaw Aged 62	Elected Previously Elector and ruler of Saxony Dethroned by Stanislaus I in 1706 during the Great Northern War	Wettin
King of Poland and Grand Duke Stanislaus I Lithuanian: Stanislovas I Leščinskis 12 July 1704 – 8 July 1709 (1st reign, 4 years, 362 days)			20 October 1677 Lwów Son of Rafał Leszczyński and Anna Jabłonowska	(1) Catherine Opalińska, 2 children	23 February 1766 Lunéville Aged 88	Usurped Nominated as ruler in 1704, crowned in 1705 and deposed predecessor in 1706 Exiled in 1709	Leszczyński
King of Poland and Grand Duke Augustus II Lithuanian: Augustas II Stiprusis 8 July 1709 – 1 February 1733 (2nd reign, 23 years, 209 days)			12 May 1670 Dresden Son of John George III and Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark	(1) Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, 1 son by wife	1 February 1733 Warsaw Aged 62	Restored	Wettin
King of Poland and Grand Duke Stanislaus I Lithuanian: Stanislovas I Leščinskis 12 September 1733 – 26 January 1736 (2nd reign, 2 years, 137 days)			20 October 1677 Lwów Son of Rafał Leszczyński and Anna Jabłonowska	(1) Catherine Opalińska, 2 children	23 February 1766 Lunéville Aged 88	Elected His election sparked the War of the Polish Succession Deposed by Augustus III in 1736	Leszczyński
King of Poland and Grand Duke Augustus III Lithuanian: Augustas III Saksas 5 October 1733 – 5 October 1763 (30 years)			17 October 1696 Dresden Son of Augustus II the Strong and Christiane Eberhardine	(1) Maria Josepha of Austria, 16 children	5 October 1763 Dresden Aged 66	Usurped Proclaimed King of Poland in 1733, crowned in 1734 Dethroned elected predecessor in 1736	Wettin
King of Poland and Grand Duke Stanislaus II Augustus Lithuanian: Stanislovas Augustas II Poniatovskis 7 September 1764 – 25 November 1795 (31 years, 80 days)			17 January 1732 Wołczyn Son of Stanisław Poniatowski and Konstancja Czartoryska	Unmarried	1 February 1798 Saint Petersburg Aged 66	Elected Born into nobility Last King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, his reign ended in the Partitions of Poland	Poniatowski

Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)

Main article: Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)

The Council of Lithuania declared independence on 16 February 1918 and invited Wilhelm of Urach to become king of Lithuania. The name of the state was the Kingdom of Lithuania. On 9 July 1918, Duke Wilhelm accepted the offer and took the name Mindaugas II. However, on 2 November the council revoked this decision as it was likely Germany would lose the war.

House of Urach (1918)

Name	Portrait	Arms	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
King-elect Mindaugas II 1918			30 May 1864 Son of Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach and Princess Florestine of Monaco	Duchess Amalie in Bavaria Princess Wiltrud of Bavaria	24 March 1928

State of Lithuania (1918–1920)

State of Lithuania was ruled by the Presidium of the State Council of Lithuania, its chairman was de facto Head of State. Institution of Presidium of the State Council of Lithuania was changed into President's on 4 April 1919. Chairman of the Presidium Antanas Smetona was elected as First President of the State of Lithuania by the State Council of Lithuania.

No	Term	President	Image	Remarks
-	2 November 1918 – 4 April 1919	Antanas Smetona		President of the Presidium of the Council of Lithuania.
1	4 April 1919 – 19 June 1920			Elected as the President of Lithuania by the Council of Lithuania.

Republic of Lithuania (1920–1940)

Main article: Lithuania

The institution of President (Lithuanian: Prezidentas) was created on 4 April 1919.

No	Term	President	Image	Remarks
2	19 June 1920 – 7 June 1926	Aleksandras Stulginskis		Acting President (as Constituent Assembly). Reelected by the Seimas on 21 December 1922 and in June 1923.
3	7 June – 18 December 1926	Kazys Grinius		Elected by Parliament, but overthrown by a military coup d'état.
-	18–19 December 1926	Jonas Staugaitis		Formally, for one day, as the head of Seimas (renounced the office after the coup d'état).
-	19 December 1926	Aleksandras Stulginskis		Formally, as the new head of Seimas, only for several hours.
(1)	19 December 1926 – 15 June 1940	Antanas Smetona		Second term, elected president after a military coup d'état. After the Soviet ultimatum of 1940, Smetona travelled to Germany, then to Switzerland and then to the United States. He did not sign any Soviet-given documents, unlike Latvian and Estonian Presidents who did so under duress, to legitimize the occupation of Lithuania and upon leaving he hoped to form a government in exile. In the United States, he was active in public and sought to unite the Lithuanian Americans and all other Lithuanians abroad to call attention to Lithuania's occupation until his death in 1944.
-	15–17 June 1940	Antanas Merkys		The Prime Minister, de facto acting president after Smetona's departure. Not recognised by Lithuanian diplomats abroad; he assumed the role of president illegally, as Smetona had neither resigned nor died.
-	17 June – August 1940	Justas Paleckis		Chosen unconstitutionally by leaders of the Lithuanian communists under pressure from the Soviet Union, not recognized internationally nor by the Lithuanian diplomatic service.
-	16 February 1949 – 26 November 1954	Jonas Žemaitis		Officially named as the fourth (acting) President of Lithuania in March 2009.
-	26 November 1954 – 29 November 1957	Adolfas Ramanauskas		Officially named as the Head of State in November 2018.

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1941 and 1944–1990)

Main article: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania and established the Lithuanian SSR in July 1940. As Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Lithuania was occupied by the Germans. For a few days before the German occupation, Lithuania was ruled by pro-German rebel government of Juozas Ambrazevičius. Under the Germans, the General District of Lithuania was governed by the administration of general Petras Kubiliūnas. As Nazi Germany retreated, the Soviet Union reoccupied the country and reestablished the Lithuanian SSR in 1944.

Title: First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos komunistų partijos Centro komiteto pirmasis sekretorius; Russian: Первый секретарь Центрального Комитета Коммунистической партии Литвы).

No	Term	First Secretary	Remarks
1	21 July 1940 – 24 June 1941 13 July 1944 – 22 January 1974	Antanas Sniečkus
2	18 February 1974 – 14 November 1987	Petras Griškevičius
3	1 December 1987 – 19 October 1988	Ringaudas Bronislovas Songaila	First leader of the party to be deposed of his power (Sniečkus and Griškevičius held office until their death)
4	19 October 1988 – 11 March 1990	Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas	Lost power as independence was declared

The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet acted as a collective head of state from 25 August 1940 to 11 March 1990.

	Term	Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet	Remarks
1	25 August 1940 – 14 April 1967	Justas Paleckis	In exile in Russian SFSR 1941–1944
2	14 April 1967 – 24 December 1975	Motiejus Šumauskas
3	24 December 1975 – 18 November 1985	Antanas Barkauskas
4	18 November 1985 – 7 December 1987	Ringaudas Songaila
5	7 December 1987 – 15 January 1990	Vytautas Astrauskas
6	15 January 1990 – 11 March 1990	Algirdas Brazauskas

Republic of Lithuania (1990–present)

The leader of the Supreme Council was the official head of state from the declaration of independence on 11 March 1990 until the new Constitution came into effect in 1992 establishing the office of President and the institution of Seimas. The state and its leadership were not recognized internationally until September 1991 [NB: Iceland was the first country to recognise the regained independence of Lithuania in February 1991.

Title from 1990 to 1992: Chairman of the Supreme Council (Parliament; Lithuanian: Aukščiausiosios Tarybos pirmininkas). Title from 1992 onwards: President (Lithuanian: prezidentas).

No	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Took office	Left office	Political party	Affiliation/Notes
-		Vytautas Landsbergis (born 1932)	–	11 March 1990	25 November 1992	Sąjūdis	As Chairman of the Supreme Council.
Speaker of the Seimas Algirdas Brazauskas served as acting President from 25 November 1992 to 25 February 1993.
1		Algirdas Brazauskas (1932–2010)	1993	25 February 1993	25 February 1998	Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania	First president of the Republic of Lithuania
2		Valdas Adamkus (born 1926)	1997–98	26 February 1998	26 February 2003	Independent
3		Rolandas Paksas (born 1956)	2002–03	26 February 2003	6 April 2004	Order and Justice	Impeached and removed from office.
Speaker of the Seimas Artūras Paulauskas served as acting President from 6 April to 12 July 2004.
(2)		Valdas Adamkus (born 1926)	2004	12 July 2004	12 July 2009	Independent
4		Dalia Grybauskaitė (born 1956)	2009 2014	12 July 2009	12 July 2019	Independent	First female President of Lithuania. Became the first President to be reelected.
5		Gitanas Nausėda (born 1964)	2019	12 July 2019	Incumbent	Independent

See also

• List of Lithuanian consorts
• List of early Lithuanian dukes

References

• History, Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved 26 August 2006.
• (in Lithuanian) Vytautas Spečiūnas (ed.), Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.) (Rulers of Lithuania (13–18th centuries)), Mokslo ir enicklopedijų leidybos institutas, Vilnius 2004. ISBN 5-420-01535-8

External links

• Another list of Lithuanian rulers