Edminas Bagdonas Lithuanian politician Date of Birth: 23.10.1963 Country: Lithuania

1. Lithuanian Political Figure and Diplomat
2. Diplomatic Missions and Service
3. Senior Presidential Advisor and Belarus Appointment
4. Honors and Recognition
5. Personal Life

Lithuanian Political Figure and Diplomat

Linas Linkevičius, a distinguished Lithuanian politician, served as a senior advisor to the President of Lithuania, and as the country's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Belarus. Between 1991 and 1992, he held the position of Foreign Affairs Bureau Aide for the Supreme Council of the Constituent Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. From 1992 to 1993, he became the Director of the Department of Inter-Parliamentary Relations for the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.

Diplomatic Missions and Service

From 1994 to 1997, Linkevičius served as Consul at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine. Subsequently, he held the role of Deputy Director of the State and Diplomatic Protocol Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania from 1997 to 1998. He later became the Director of the State and Diplomatic Protocol Department, a position he held from 1998 to 2001.

Between 2001 and 2004, Linkevičius served as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Italy, non-resident Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro, the Swiss Confederation, and the Republic of Malta.

Senior Presidential Advisor and Belarus Appointment

From 2004 to 2006, he held the position of Advisor to the President of the Republic of Lithuania, leading the Foreign Policy Group as well as coordinating the group of presidential advisors. He also served as the Head of the Consultative Committee of the Presidents of Lithuania and Poland.

On January 12, 2007, Linas Linkevičius was appointed by President Valdas Adamkus as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Belarus. He arrived in Minsk on February 1, 2007, and presented his credentials to the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, on February 13.

Honors and Recognition

Linkevičius has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Memorial Medal on January 13, 2003; the Commemorative Badge for Lithuania's Invitation to Join NATO in 2003; the Commander's Cross of the Order "For Merits to Lithuania" in 2003; and various state awards from countries such as Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, Greece, Belgium, Ukraine, Spain, and the Order of Malta.

Personal Life

Linkevičius is married and has two children. Before his appointment to Belarus, he was fluent in eight languages: Czech, Polish, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Italian. He later gained proficiency in Belarusian as well.