Background
Dalia Grybauskaitė was born on March 1, 1956, in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania). She is the daughter of Polikarpas Grybauskas and Vitalija Korsakaitė. She also has a half-brother.
Dalia Grybauskaitė
Vilniaus g. 32, Vilnius 01119, Lithuania
Salomėja Nėris High School where Dalia Grybauskaitė studied.
University Embankment, 7/9, St Petersburg, Russia, 199034
Saint Petersburg State University where Dalia Grybauskaitė studied from 1976 to 1983.
ICC 301, 37th St NW & O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, United States
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service where Dalia Grybauskaitė studied in 1991.
2004
Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then Lithuanian Minister of Finance, speaks with Caio Koch-Weser, then German Secretary of State for Finance, at the start of the Ecofin meeting in Brussels on March 9, 2004.
2004
Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė arrives for the first meeting of the new 25-member European Union Commission to be led by former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso in Brussels on August 20, 2004.
2009
Rue de la Loi 200, 1049 Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, left, walks with Fredrik Reinfeldt, then prime minister of Sweden and standing president of the European Council, into the meeting of European Union leaders on the second day of the summit at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on December 11, 2009.
2009
New York, NY 10017, United States
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then President of Lithuania, speaks at the 64th annual United Nations General Assembly in New York, on September 24, 2009.
2009
Then President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, talks with then President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, during a group portrait at the European Summit.
2009
Grybauskaitė, inaugurating Arvydas Pocius as the commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces on July 28, 2009.
2010
Rue de la Loi 200, 1049 Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, speaks with Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, during the European Union Summit meeting at the European Union Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 17, 2010.
2010
Vilnius, Lithuania
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, poses for photographs with Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, in Vilnius on September 6, 2010.
2010
881 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019, United States
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, attends the 20th annual Women of the Year awards at Carnegie Hall on November 8, 2010.
2010
R. do Bojador, 1998-010 Lisboa, Portugal
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, Andrus Ansip, then Prime Minister of Estonia, and Barack Obama, then President of the United States, attend the official family photo of the NATO Summit 2010 at Feira Internacional de Lisboa on November 19, 2010.
2011
Slottsplassen 1, 0010 Oslo, Norway
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, King Harald V of Norway, Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (not seen), and Prince Haakon of Norway (not seen) attend the official welcoming ceremony at the Royal Palace on the first day of the Lithuanian state visit on April 5, 2011.
2013
Berlin, Germany
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and then Minister of Work and Social Issues of Germany Ursula von der Leyen attend a summit of several European leaders to address European youth unemployment on July 3, 2013.
2014
's-Gravenhaagse Bos 10, 2594 BD Den Haag, Netherlands
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at the Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch on March 24, 2014.
2015
00120 Vatican City
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, exchanges gifts with Pope Francis during a private audience at the Apostolic Palace on October 29, 2015.
2016
Rue de la Loi 175, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, arrives for the European Council meeting in Brussels held at the Justus Lipsius building on March 7, 2016.
2016
Spreeweg 1, 10557 Berlin, Germany
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, and Joachim Gauck, then President of Germany, in Bellevue Castle in Berlin on April 20, 2016.
2017
President's Palace, Il-Belt Valletta, Malta
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, and Beata Szydlo, then Prime Minister of Poland, during the first Working Session of European Council at Grandmaster's Palace on February 3, 2017.
2018
Belwederska 54, 00-001 Warszawa, Poland
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, and President of Hungary Janos Ader attend Poland's Independence 100th anniversary celebrations at the Belvedere Palace on June 8, 2018.
2018
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, United States
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then President of Lithuania, Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia, and Raimonds Vejonis, then President of Latvia, participate in a meeting with Donald Trump, then President of the United States, on April 3, 2018.
2018
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, United States
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then President of Lithuania, and Donald Trump, then President of the United States, participate in a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on April 3, 2018.
2018
Lithuania
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then President of Lithuania, and Pope Francis on September 22, 2018.
2019
Grybauskaitė with Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena in May 2019
The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2003.
The Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2009.
The Order of the Three Stars that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2011.
The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2011.
The Order of the Falcon that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2011.
The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2013.
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2013.
The Order for Exceptional Merits that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2016.
The Order of the Star of Romania that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2016.
The Order of the Netherlands Lion that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2016.
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2018.
2004
Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then Lithuanian Minister of Finance, speaks with Caio Koch-Weser, then German Secretary of State for Finance, at the start of the Ecofin meeting in Brussels on March 9, 2004.
2004
Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė arrives for the first meeting of the new 25-member European Union Commission to be led by former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso in Brussels on August 20, 2004.
2009
Rue de la Loi 200, 1049 Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, left, walks with Fredrik Reinfeldt, then prime minister of Sweden and standing president of the European Council, into the meeting of European Union leaders on the second day of the summit at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on December 11, 2009.
2009
New York, NY 10017, United States
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then President of Lithuania, speaks at the 64th annual United Nations General Assembly in New York, on September 24, 2009.
2009
Then President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, talks with then President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, during a group portrait at the European Summit.
2009
Grybauskaitė, inaugurating Arvydas Pocius as the commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces on July 28, 2009.
2010
Rue de la Loi 200, 1049 Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, speaks with Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, during the European Union Summit meeting at the European Union Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 17, 2010.
2010
Vilnius, Lithuania
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, poses for photographs with Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, in Vilnius on September 6, 2010.
2010
881 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019, United States
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, attends the 20th annual Women of the Year awards at Carnegie Hall on November 8, 2010.
2010
R. do Bojador, 1998-010 Lisboa, Portugal
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, Andrus Ansip, then Prime Minister of Estonia, and Barack Obama, then President of the United States, attend the official family photo of the NATO Summit 2010 at Feira Internacional de Lisboa on November 19, 2010.
2011
Slottsplassen 1, 0010 Oslo, Norway
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, King Harald V of Norway, Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (not seen), and Prince Haakon of Norway (not seen) attend the official welcoming ceremony at the Royal Palace on the first day of the Lithuanian state visit on April 5, 2011.
2013
Berlin, Germany
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and then Minister of Work and Social Issues of Germany Ursula von der Leyen attend a summit of several European leaders to address European youth unemployment on July 3, 2013.
2014
's-Gravenhaagse Bos 10, 2594 BD Den Haag, Netherlands
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at the Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch on March 24, 2014.
2015
00120 Vatican City
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, exchanges gifts with Pope Francis during a private audience at the Apostolic Palace on October 29, 2015.
2016
Rue de la Loi 175, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, arrives for the European Council meeting in Brussels held at the Justus Lipsius building on March 7, 2016.
2016
Av. Embaixador Abelardo Bueno - Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22775-039, Brazil
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, attends the swimming finals on day 3 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Center on August 8, 2016.
2016
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, attends the swimming finals of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 8, 2016.
2016
Spreeweg 1, 10557 Berlin, Germany
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, and Joachim Gauck, then President of Germany, in Bellevue Castle in Berlin on April 20, 2016.
2017
President's Palace, Il-Belt Valletta, Malta
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, and Beata Szydlo, then Prime Minister of Poland, during the first Working Session of European Council at Grandmaster's Palace on February 3, 2017.
2018
Bulevar Arsenija Čarnojevica 58, Beograd 11070, Serbia
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, Arvydas Sabonis, former Lithuanian basketball player, and Robertas Javtokas attend the 2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague F4 Semifinal B game between Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul and Zalgiris Kaunas at Stark Arena on May 18, 2018.
2018
Belwederska 54, 00-001 Warszawa, Poland
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then president of Lithuania, and President of Hungary Janos Ader attend Poland's Independence 100th anniversary celebrations at the Belvedere Palace on June 8, 2018.
2018
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, United States
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then President of Lithuania, Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia, and Raimonds Vejonis, then President of Latvia, participate in a meeting with Donald Trump, then President of the United States, on April 3, 2018.
2018
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, United States
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then President of Lithuania, and Donald Trump, then President of the United States, participate in a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on April 3, 2018.
2018
Lithuania
Dalia Grybauskaitė, then President of Lithuania, and Pope Francis on September 22, 2018.
2019
Grybauskaitė with Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena in May 2019
The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2003.
The Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2009.
The Order of the Three Stars that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2011.
The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2011.
The Order of the Falcon that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2011.
The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2013.
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2013.
The Order for Exceptional Merits that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2016.
The Order of the Star of Romania that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2016.
The Order of the Netherlands Lion that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2016.
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic that Dalia Grybauskaitė received in 2018.
Vilniaus g. 32, Vilnius 01119, Lithuania
Salomėja Nėris High School where Dalia Grybauskaitė studied.
University Embankment, 7/9, St Petersburg, Russia, 199034
Saint Petersburg State University where Dalia Grybauskaitė studied from 1976 to 1983.
ICC 301, 37th St NW & O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, United States
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service where Dalia Grybauskaitė studied in 1991.
Dalia Grybauskaitė was born on March 1, 1956, in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania). She is the daughter of Polikarpas Grybauskas and Vitalija Korsakaitė. She also has a half-brother.
Dalia Grybauskaitė attended Salomėja Nėris High School. She was very fond of Geography and Physics during her school days. Later she studied at Leningrad University (now Saint Petersburg State University) from 1976 to 1983. Grybauskaitė received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Moscow Academy of Public Sciences in 1988. In 1991, she continued her studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in the Special Programme for senior executives.
Dalia Grybauskaitė started her career as a staff inspector at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society where she worked from 1975 to 1976. In 1983, she took a secretarial position at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. However, soon the same year Grybauskaitė took up a post as a lecturer at the Vilnius Communist Party High School where she lectured in political economics and global finance from 1983 to 1990. From 1990 to 1991, she served in a secretarial position at the Lithuanian Institute of Economics.
In 1991, Grybauskaitė started to work as Director of the European Department at the Ministry of International Economic Relations of the Republic of Lithuania. She held this post until 1993 when she became Director of the Economic Relations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She also chaired the Aid Coordination Committee. In 1994, Grybauskaitė was appointed Extraordinary Envoy and Plenipotentiary Minister at the Lithuanian Mission to the European Union. From 1996 to 1999, she served as Plenipotentiary Minister at the Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, District of Columbia.
In 1999, Dalia Grybauskaitė was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance. As part of this role, she led Lithuanian negotiations with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. She held this post until 2000. From 2000 to 2001, she served as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. Grybauskaitė was elected as Minister of Finance on July 12, 2001. She held this role for the next three years. On May 1, 2004, she was appointed European Commissioner for Education and Culture and held this post until November 11, 2004. She also served as European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget from November 22, 2004 to July 1, 2009. Dalia Grybauskaitė contested the 2009 Lithuanian presidential elections and was eventually elected the president. In 2014, she was re-elected as the president of the country and held this post until 2019. She also served as chair of the Council of Women World Leaders from 2014 to 2019.
Dalia Grybauskaitė is a Lithuanian politician, educator, and activist who served as President of Lithuania from 2009 until 2019. She is the first woman to hold the position. Grybauskaitė also served as Minister of Finance, as well as European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget from 2004 to 2009.
Dalia Grybauskaitė was honored with the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas in 2003. In 2009, she received the Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Chain. Grybauskaitė also was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, the Order of the Falcon, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Dalia Grybauskaitė joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1983. After the Communist Party of Lithuania broke away from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in December 1989, she was a member of the Communist Party of Lithuania until June 1990. In 1990, she became an independent politician.
When she became European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget she was named "Commissioner of the Year" in the European Voice Europeans of the Year poll. Grybauskaitė was nominated for her unrelenting efforts to shift EU spending towards areas that would enhance competitiveness such as research and development. She strongly criticized the European Union budget. In 2008, Grybauskaitė presented a European Union budget in which spending on growth and employment constituted the highest share of the budget, exceeding that of agriculture and natural resources.
Grybauskaitė's election campaign was focused on domestic issues. Grybauskaitė stressed the need to combat the financial troubles by protecting those with the lowest incomes, simplifying the Lithuanian bureaucratic apparatus, and reviewing the government's investment program. She also promised a more balanced approach in conducting foreign policy.
Dalia Grybauskaitė became president in 2009. During her term of office, she took measures to combat corruption. Illegal enrichment has become a crime. She guaranteed security and anonymity for people who would inform about illegal activities. The general public received access to information about public sector employees. The fines for smuggling and other economic and financial crimes were increased by five times.
When Grybauskaitė became president she made visits to Sweden and Latvia. She supported the NATO-led military intervention in Libya. In 2014, she said that Lithuania will have to take the responsibility for the secret CIA-operated prison in Lithuania. In March 2017, Grybauskaitė criticized the government of Poland and Prime Minister Beata Szydło for not endorsing Donald Tusk again for the President of the European Council. She also commented on Brexit in 2019 by saying that a "no-deal Brexit" would be better than delaying Brexit.
During Grybauskaitė's presidency, relations between Lithuania and Russia deteriorated. In 2013, she boycotted the Sochi Winter Olympics, supporting Ukraine. In May 2014, she called the dependence on Russian gas an "existential threat" to Lithuania. On November 20, 2014, Grybauskaitė, commenting on the conflict in Ukraine, characterized Russia as "a terrorist state which carries out an open aggression against its neighbors." In June 2018, Grybauskaitė said that Lithuania should be ready for Russian invasion.
Dalia Grybauskaitė fights for equal rights between men and women. She said that gender equality was one of the most important human rights. She is also a strong supporter of the LGBT community.
Quotations:
"The world has become more diversified, with women becoming a real power of change."
"My advice and wish to every woman in my country and in the world is very simple: do not be afraid to be yourself, to have your dream, your vision, and to go for it. We can achieve a lot if we are sincerely committed to our goals and work hard to realize them."
"Hard work, courage and commitment – these are the key elements for success."
"If there were more women heads of state in the world, the world would be more peaceful and better focused on the improvement of the overall quality of life and welfare."
"With the danger of terrorism and war spreading in the world, now is the right moment to stop and reconsider our actions and do everything possible to bring an end to the fighting, be it in your own homeland, neighboring countries, or in your region."
Dalia Grybauskaitė is fluent in English, Russian and Polish, and also speaks French.
At the tender age of eleven, she started participating in sports and even developed a passion for basketball at the same time. She also has a black belt in karate.
Dalia Grybauskaitė is not married and has no children.
