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Petras VaitiekunasLithuanian politician and diplomat
Date of Birth: 26.03.1953
Country:  Lithuania |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Scientific Career
- Political Career
- Diplomatic Service
- Post-Ministerial Career
- Personal Life
Early Life and Education
Antanas Valionis was born in Lithuania and pursued a degree in physics at Vilnius State University, graduating in 1976. He later obtained a Candidate of Science degree in natural sciences from the Institute of Physics in 1983.
Scientific Career
From 1976 to 1990, Valionis worked as a researcher at the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian SSR. He successfully defended his dissertation in 1983, earning a Candidate of Science degree, which was later equated to a Doctor of Science degree under Lithuania's current academic nomenclature.
Political Career
Valionis entered politics after the fall of the Soviet Union. He served as a deputy in the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania from 1990 to 1992 and became a consultant to the Chairman of the Seimas (Parliament) of the Republic of Lithuania from 1992 to 1993. From 1993 to 1998, he held the position of Senior Assistant to President Algirdas Brazauskas on foreign policy matters.
In 1998, Valionis became Head of the Central European Division of the Department of Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later served as Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania from 1998 to 1999.
Diplomatic Service
Valionis's diplomatic career began in 1999 when he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Latvia, a post he held until 2004. He then served as Foreign Policy Advisor to President Rolandas Paksas and later as an Ambassador-at-Large in the Department of Foreign Policy Analysis and Planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2005.
From 2005 to 2006, Valionis was Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Belarus. In 2006, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, a position he held until 2008.
Post-Ministerial Career
After leaving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Valionis served as an advisor to the Chairman of the Seimas of Lithuania in 2008-2009. In January 2010, he was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to Ukraine.
Personal Life
Antanas Valionis is married and has three children. He is fluent in English, Latvian, and Russian.
