Antanas Merkys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antanas Merkys (
pronunciation (help·info); born on February 1, 1887 in Bajorai, near Skapiškis, Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire; died on March 5, 1955 in Vladimir Oblast, Soviet Union) was the last Prime Minister of independent Lithuania, serving from November 1939 to June 1940. When Soviet Union presented an ultimatum to Lithuania, President Antanas Smetona fled the country leaving Merkys as the acting president. Merkys ostensibly cooperated with the Soviets and handed over the power to Justas Paleckis, who formed the so-called People's Government of Lithuania. When Merkys attempted to flee the country, he was captured and deported to interior of Russia, where he died in 1955.
[edit] Biography
Educated in law, Merkys served in the Russian Army during World War I (1914–18). In 1919, he served as the newly-independent Lithuania's Minister of Defence before serving with the Lithuanian Army until his decommissioning in 1922. He then practised as a lawyer.
After the Klaipėda Revolt of 1923, Merkys became secretary to the Klaipėda Region Commissioner, Antanas Smetona. Following the coup d'état in 1926, he became Minister of Defence again until 1927, when he was made Governor of Klaipėda Region. In 1932, German demands prompted his removal as Governor and Merkys returned to practising law.[1] He became Mayor of Kaunas in 1933 and served in this position until 1939.[2] In 1936 was elected to the Fourth Seimas. On November 17, 1939, he became Prime Minister.
[edit] Soviet ultimatum and occupation
When, on 14 June 1940, the Soviet Union presented an ultimatum to Lithuania, President Antanas Smetona proposed armed resistance. Merkys suggested accepting the ultimatum and wanted to resign as Prime Minister, but, as a successor could not be agreed with the Soviet Union, he remained at the head of the cabinet. Smetona turned over his presidential duties to Merkys before secretly retreating to Germany and then Switzerland.
Although unsuccessful, Merkys had complied with Soviet demands that Smetona be apprehended. The day after Smetona's departure, Merkys announced on national radio that he had removed Smetona as President and had assumed the post himself. As this was contrary to the existing law, his presidency remains unrecognised by Lithuanian diplomats.[3]
On June 17, 1940, Merkys accepted the Soviet demands, appointing Justas Paleckis as the new Prime Minister and then resigning. He retreated to Palanga. On July 17, with his family he tried to leave for Sweden, but was arrested in Riga. He and his family were deported to Saratov in Russia. In 1941 Merkys was imprisoned. In 1954, during the de-Stalinization, Merkys was released from prison without the right to return to Lithuania. He lived in Vladimir until his death the following year, on March 5, 1955. His grave could not be found and Petrašiūnai cemetery in Kaunas has only a symbolic cenotaph dedicated to Merkys.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ (Lithuanian) "Antanas Merkys". Seimas. 2003-11-03. http://www3.lrs.lt/seimu_istorija/w3_viewer.viewdoc-p_int_tekst_id=3476&p_int_tv_id=282.htm.
- ^ a b (Lithuanian) "Antanas Merkys". Žymūs Kauno žmonės: atminimo įamžinimas. Kauno apskrities viešoji biblioteka. 2004. http://atminimas.kvb.lt/asmenvardis.php?asm=MERKYS%20ANTANAS.
- ^ "Presidents of the Republic of Lithuania". Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania. http://www.president.lt/en/institution/history.html.
| Preceded by Jonas Černius |
Prime Minister of Lithuania November 21, 1939 – June 17, 1940 |
Succeeded by Justas Paleckis |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
 |
This article about a Lithuanian politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
