Lithuania’s ruling Social Democrats have named party leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius as the country’s next prime minister, following a coalition reshuffle that ousted a populist party over its leader’s anti-Semitism conviction.
The party announced on June 16 that Sinkevičius was ready to take charge of forming a new government, replacing Inga Ruginienė, a fellow Social Democrat who has held the post since September 2025.
Sinkevičius said he was assuming the role mindful of the public’s expectations and that the country needed unity. He was elected chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP) in 2025.
The move followed the Social Democrats’ decision earlier in June to expel the populist Nemunas Dawn party from the governing coalition.
Its leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, was convicted last year by a Vilnius court of inciting hatred against Jews and playing down the Holocaust. He said he had not been given clear reasons for his party’s removal.
The new centre-left coalition would still be led by the Social Democrats, joined by the Farmers and Greens group and the Democrats “For Lithuania”.
The three parties would hold 75 of the 141 seats in the Seimas, Lithuania’s parliament. A coalition agreement was due to be signed on June 18 before being submitted to President Gitanas Nausėda for approval.
Sinkevičius said the incoming Government would focus on easing the burden of rising prices and living costs, tackling social inequality and poverty, and improving access to healthcare.
He also stressed the need to strengthen the country’s defences amid rising geopolitical tension, adding that Lithuanian foreign policy had to be active, consistent and results-oriented.
The reshuffle marked the latest bout of turbulence in Lithuanian politics. Ruginienė, a former trade union leader, took office last year only after her predecessor, Gintautas Paluckas, resigned amid a corruption investigation.
Lithuania, an EU and NATO member bordering Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave and Belarus, has been among the bloc’s most insistent voices for higher defence spending since the start of the Ukraine war.
The change at the top is unlikely to alter that course, with Sinkevičius placing national security and the defence industry near the top of his stated priorities.
