Lithuania PM Inga Ruginienė Resigns After 10 Months as Mindaugas Sinkevičius Poised to Form Cabinet
Updated
Updated · Euronews · Jun 23
Lithuania PM Inga Ruginienė Resigns After 10 Months as Mindaugas Sinkevičius Poised to Form Cabinet
3 articles · Updated · Euronews · Jun 23
Summary
Inga Ruginienė stepped down with her cabinet on Tuesday, ending a 10-month premiership while staying on in the caretaker government until a successor is approved.
Mindaugas Sinkevičius is expected to become Lithuania’s third Social Democrat prime minister since the 2024 election, with President Gitanas Nausėda set to submit his nomination to parliament on Thursday.
Ruginienė said the handover had been planned and merely postponed, though her short tenure was battered by scandals and crises including family trips that broke the law, leaked-data fallout and ministerial dismissals.
The reshuffle follows a coalition reset: the Social Democrats pushed out Dawn of Nemunas and brought Democrats “For Lithuania” back, while keeping 9 ministries in the new power-sharing deal.
Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys remains a key uncertainty as the new cabinet takes shape, with pressure to improve ties with China even as Lithuania backs tougher EU trade defenses against Beijing.