The Foreign Minister's political team has been formed
The Minister of Foreign Affairs’ team will include four vice-ministers. Sigitas Mitkus and Vidmantas Verbickas will continue in their roles, while Kristupas Vaitiekūnas and Lina Rukštelienė are joining the team.
Kristupas Vaitiekūnas served as the Minister of Finance in the 20th Government; prior to that, he held the position of Vice-Minister of Finance and worked as a Tax Project Manager Tax Projects Manager at "Rödl & Partner."
The Vice-Minister holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in International Finance from Vilnius University. He will oversee issues related to economic diplomacy and economic security.
Lina Rukštelienė has more than 30 years of experience in the diplomatic service, covering bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, security policy, EU affairs, strategic management, and high-level state representation. Throughout her diplomatic career, she held senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Embassy in Latvia, and the Permanent Mission to International Organizations and the OSCE in Vienna. She has extensive management experience, having led units responsible for protocol, EU enlargement, strategic planning, and analysis, while contributing to the formulation of Lithuania's foreign and security policy. In her roles as Minister Plenipotentiary, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, and Deputy Permanent Representative, she represented Lithuania’s interests in international organizations. Since 2022, she has served as Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Austria, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Rukštelienė graduated from the Faculty of History at Vilnius University and also studied at the George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies, where she deepened her knowledge of international security and strategic studies. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she will oversee transatlantic cooperation and security issues.
Vice-Minister Sigitas Mitkus has served in the diplomatic service for nearly thirty years. He participated in negotiations on Lithuania’s accession to the EU, served as an advisor at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Lithuania to the EU, and as Deputy Director and Director of the EU Department, Director of the Financial Markets Policy Department at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania. He headed the Lithuanian delegation in negotiations regarding membership in the OECD’s Financial Markets, Insurance, and Private Pensions Committees and served as Foreign Policy Advisor to President Gitanas Nausėda. Mitkus holds a Master's degree from the Faculty of Economics at Vilnius University and completed further studies at the National School of Administration in Paris. He will oversee the formulation and implementation of EU policy, as well as relations with EU institutions.
Vice-Minister Vidmantas Verbickas has nearly thirty years of experience in the diplomatic service. The diplomat specializes in economic diplomacy and economic and energy security issues. He has coordinated a network of Lithuanian diplomatic missions, consulates, business institutions, tourism offices, honorary consuls, and members of the diaspora in the United States, with the aim of collaborating to promote Lithuanian exports, attract foreign investment, strengthen economic ties, and enhance Lithuania’s image abroad. Verbickas has served at Lithuanian diplomatic missions in Warsaw, Chicago, and Minsk. A graduate of Kaunas University of Technology with degrees in Engineering and Management, he completed internships at the Centre for Economic and Commercial Studies in Madrid, Spain, and at the Economic Planning Agency of the Economic Research Institute in Tokyo. Vice- Minister Verbickas will oversee relations with India and the Pacific regions, as well as the Global South, and will handle issues related to cultural diplomacy and strategic communications.
Aistė Stakėnienė will continue to serve as Chancellor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She previously served as Head of the Board of the State Security Department in charge of human resources and finance, and before that as Head of Human Resources at the Lithuanian National Radio and Television. Stakėnienė holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Business Administration and a Master's degree in Human Resource Management from the Faculty of Economics at Vilnius University.