Vytautas Landsbergis-Zemkalnis Lithuanian architect, public and political figure Date of Birth: 26.02.1893 Country: Lithuania

Biography of Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis

Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis was a Lithuanian architect, public and political figure, and the father of Lithuanian politician Vytautas Landsbergis. He was born into a family of Lithuanian theater actor, publicist, and active participant in the Lithuanian national revival, Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis.

Education and Early Career
Landsbergis-Žemkalnis graduated from a gymnasium in Riga in 1913 and later from the Riga Polytechnic Institute in 1916. He volunteered for the Lithuanian Army (1918-1922) and served as a captain of artillery. He distinguished himself in battles against Bermont's troops near Radviliškis and was awarded the Order of the Vytis in 1919. Landsbergis-Žemkalnis pursued further studies at the University of Rome from 1922 to 1925, becoming the first Lithuanian to receive architectural education in Western Europe.

Architectural Career
From 1927 to 1944, Landsbergis-Žemkalnis worked as an assistant and lecturer at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas (known as the University of Vytautas the Great since 1930). He designed buildings such as hospitals in Panevėžys and Šiauliai, gymnasiums in Biržai and Panevėžys, and several notable public and industrial buildings in Kaunas. After the transfer of Vilnius to Lithuania, he also lectured at Vilnius University. From 1939 to 1944, he served as the chief engineer-architect of Vilnius.

Political Involvement
At the beginning of Germany's aggression against the Soviet Union, Landsbergis-Žemkalnis was involved in the underground Lithuanian Activist Front (Lietuvos aktyvistų frontas) and formed the Temporary Government of Lithuania, led by Colonel Kazys Škirpa, the former ambassador of independent Lithuania to Germany. The Temporary Government declared its existence and the restoration of the state's independence on June 23, 1941, but only nominally lasted for six weeks. Landsbergis-Žemkalnis held the position of Minister of Municipal Economy in the government.

Life in Germany and Australia
Following World War II, Landsbergis-Žemkalnis worked as a teacher at a Lithuanian gymnasium in Germany (1945-1949) while simultaneously serving as an associate professor in the architecture department at the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) University in Munich (1946-1949). In 1949, he emigrated to Australia and worked as an architect in Melbourne. He also served as the Chairman of the Lithuanian Cultural Fund in Australia from 1952 to 1953.

Return to Lithuania
In 1959, Landsbergis-Žemkalnis returned to the Lithuanian SSR and worked as a senior architect at the Institute of Urban and Rural Construction in Kaunas. On September 26, 1991, he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Kaunas. A secondary school in Panevėžys was named after Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis in 1993. He passed away in Kaunas and was buried at the Petrašiūnai Cemetery.