According to the questioner conducted by the political weekly magazine Veidas  Lithuania’a President Dalia Grybauskaite was the most influential person in the country in 2009.  It is a first time since the questioner was started when a female tops the list.  

The political scientist Tomas Janeliunas said to Veidas magazine, ‘Hardly we had a situation in Lithuania until now when the important political decisions would be adopted so rapidly according to a wish of a single person.  Once Grybauskaite confidently and, sometimes radically indicates her wish to the government and to the specific politicians they would not dare to object to her.’

The prime minister and chairman of the ruling Conservative Party Andrius Kubilius came second.  The third place went to the chief shareholder in the Achema Group and President of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists Bronislovas Lubys.

The ranking is based on the opinion of almost 100 of the Lithuania’s Members of Parliament.

According to the poll the Parliamentary Speaker Irena Degutiene is ranked fourth, then goes to the former president and Honorary Chairman of the Lithuanian Social Democrat Party Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas.  Mr Brazauskas was elected most influential Lithuanian in 2006 and 2007.

Member of European Parliament, the  Vytautas Landsbergis Honorary Chairman of the Conservative party came sixth.  Mr Nerijus Numavicius the principal shareholder in Vilniaus Prekyba (VP) Group came seventh, followed by the Cardinal and Deputy Chairman of the Lithuanian Confederation of Bishops Audrys Juozas Backis, Archbishop of Lithuania’s second city Kaunas and Chairman of the Lithuanian Confederation of Bishops.  The list of ten most influential is completed by the President of Ukio Bank Investment Group Vladimir Romanov.

The list consists of 50 individuals.  The owner of Lietuvos Rytas media group M Gedvydas Vainauskas is 11th, and his arch rival Vytas Tomkus of Respublika group is 13th.  The General Prosecutor Algimantas Valantinas is 17th even though talk in the town is that he is going to be next to loose his post.  The Minister of Defence Rasa Jukneviciene is 19th and the Chairman of the Social Democrat party Algirdas Butkevicius is 20th. Governor of the Central Bank of Lithuania Reinoldijus Sarkinas this year ranked 21st and the former president Valdas Adamkus appearing 26th in the said list.

Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius last year topped the list of the country’s most influential individuals.  The are eight women in the list.