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Vitautas LandsbergisLithuanian politician
Date of Birth: 18.04.1932
Country:  Lithuania |
Content:
Early Life and Education
Vydas Gedvilas is a Lithuanian musician and art historian. He was born into a family of Lithuanian architect and ophthalmologist, Vitautais Landsbergis-Žemkalnis and Ona Jablonskyte-Landsbergiene, respectively. His mother received the title of Righteous Among the Nations from the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial for saving Jews during the German occupation of Lithuania.
Vydas Gedvilas completed his secondary and musical education in Kaunas. He studied at the Lithuanian SSR State Conservatory in Vilnius from 1950 to 1955. He subsequently taught at the M. K. Čiurlionis Music School (now the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Gymnasium) and the Vilnius Pedagogical University. From 1974, he taught at the conservatory.
Academic Career
In 1969, Gedvilas received his Candidate of Art History degree for his dissertation on the composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. He became a professor at the Vilnius Conservatory (now the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre) from 1978 to 1990. In 1994, he defended his second dissertation and became a Doctor of Habilitated Sciences.
Gedvilas held several positions within the Lithuanian Composers' Union, including member of the board and secretary. He was the Chairman of the M. K. Čiurlionis Society and Honorary Chairman of the Lithuanian Chess Federation. He has published over thirty books, many of which focus on Čiurlionis.
Political Involvement
Under the pseudonym Jonas Žemkalnis, Gedvilas published two books of poetic reflections, "Intermezzo" and "Intermezzo non finito." In June 1988, he was elected to the Sajūdis initiative group, which later transformed into the Lithuanian Movement for Reconstruction.
Gedvilas became a member of the Sajūdis Seimas (parliament) and its Council. From November 1988 to April 1990, he served as Chairman of the Sajūdis Seimas Council. In December 1991, he was appointed Honorary Chairman. In March 1989, he was elected as a People's Deputy of the USSR and participated in the Congress of People's Deputies.
Gedvilas served as Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania (1990-1992) and the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (1996-2000). He co-founded and led the right-wing party Homeland Union (Tėvynės Sąjunga). He was elected as its Chairman in 1993 and re-elected in 1995, 1998, and 2000. From 2003, he served as Chairman of its Political Committee and member of its Presidium. In 1997, he ran for President of Lithuania.
European Parliament and Controversy
In September 2000, Gedvilas initiated a law recognizing the collaborationist "Provisional Government of Lithuania" during the German occupation, but the bill was withdrawn due to widespread protests. From 2004 to 2019, Gedvilas was a member of the European Parliament. He was re-elected from the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats in 2009.
