Valdas Tutkus

Last updated
Valdas Tutkus
Lt-Gen Tutkus.jpg
Born (1960-12-27) December 27, 1960 (age 63)
Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
AllegianceFlag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
Service/branchFlag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Army
Flag of the Lithuanian Army.svg  Lithuanian Land Force
Years of service1978–2009
Rank Lieutenant general
Commands heldChief of Defence of Lithuania

Lieutenant General Valdas Tutkus (born 27 December 1960) is a Lithuanian former military officer who served as the Chief of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania from 2004 until 2009, having previously served as an Armed Forces Commander from 2001 to 2004. [1] [2] Tutkus was a candidate in the 2024 Lithuanian presidential election, but withdrew in April.

Contents

Biography

From 1978 to 1982, he studied at the Tashkent Higher All-Arms Command School. After 1982, he became a platoon commander. and in 1983 was sent to Afghanistan as part of units of the Turkestan Military District's 40th Army. From 1988 to 1991, he studied at the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow. By 1991, Tutkus withdrew from the Soviet Armed Forces and became a founding member of the modern Lithuanian Armed Forces. [1]

After the restoration of independence, he served in the 'Iron Wolf' Mechanised Infantry Brigade. [1] In 1995, he was sent to the NATO Defense College in Rome. [1] From 1999 to 2001, he served as Military Representative of the Republic of Lithuania to NATO and the European Union. This was concurrent to the post of Defense Attaché to the Kingdom of Belgium. From 2001 to 2004   he was Commander of the Lithuanian Land Forces. [3] At the end of his term, he became Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. [4] [5] On 24 July 2009, Arvydas Pocius was assigned as Chief of Defence and Tutkus was dismissed. From 2014 to 2015, he was Director of the Lithuanian Defense and Security Industry Association. [6]

On 5 October 2023, Tutkus announced his intention to run as a candidate in the 2024 Lithuanian presidential election, supported by the Party "Together with the Vytis", formerly known as the Lithuanian Pensioners' Party. In his electoral program, he supports nationalization of strategic sectors of the economy, abandoning the Euro and restoring the litas, opposition to LGBT rights and maintaining friendly relations with both Ukraine and Russia. [7] [8]

Personal life

He is married to Lilija, and has a son named Vytautas.

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithuanian Armed Forces</span> Armed forces of Lithuania

The Lithuanian Armed Forces are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service becomes part of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. A special security department handles VIP protection and communications security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Lithuania</span> Overview of the foreign relations of Lithuania

Lithuania is a Northern country on the south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, a member of the United Nations Organisation, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the World Trade Organisation. Currently, Lithuania maintains diplomatic relations with 186 states Lithuania became a member of the United Nations on 18 September 1991, and is a signatory to a number of its organizations and other international agreements. It is also a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO and its adjunct North Atlantic Coordinating Council, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. Lithuania gained membership in the World Trade Organization on 31 May 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Lithuania</span>

The coat of arms of Lithuania is a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as Vytis. Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is also known by other names in various languages, such as Waykimas, Pagaunė in the Lithuanian language or as Pogonia, Pogoń, Пагоня in the Polish, and Belarusian languages. Vytis is translatable as Chase, Pursuer, Knight or Horseman, similar to the Slavic vityaz. Historically – raitas senovės karžygys or in heraldry – raitas valdovas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf</span> Military unit

Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Iron Wolf" is the core unit of the Lithuanian Army and forms the country's contribution to NATO collective defence. The name of the brigade relates to the Lithuanian mythical character from the medieval foundation legend of the Vilnius city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvestras Žukauskas</span> Lithuanian general

Silvestras Žukauskas was a Lithuanian General. He first served in the Imperial Russian Army, where he distinguished himself during World War I, rising to the rank of major general and ending the war as divisional commander. Later he joined the Lithuanian Army and was its Chief Commander three times: May–September 1919, February–June 1920, and June 1923 to January 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arvydas Pocius</span>

Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius is a former Chief of Defence of Lithuania. During his military career, Pocius has held various positions, including Chief of Staff of Voluntary Service of National Defence, and Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force. Pocius was Lithuanian champion of freestyle wrestling in junior, youth and adult groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Ordinariate of Lithuania</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Lithuania

The Military Ordinariate of Lithuania is a military ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church. Immediately subject to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Roman Catholics serving in the Lithuanian Armed Forces and their families. The military ordinaries have the rights and duties of a bishop and participate in the Lithuanian Bishops' Conferences.

In Lithuania, the Independence Medal is a state medal of Lithuania, awarded for the contributions in the restoration of the independence of the state. The medal had two issues in 1928 and 2000. Both times it was issued to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Lithuania's independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazauskas Cabinet I</span>

The First Brazauskas Cabinet was the 12th cabinet of Lithuania since 1990. It consisted of the Prime Minister and 13 government ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincas Vitkauskas</span> Lithuanian general

Vincas Vitkauskas was a Lithuanian general. He became commander of the Lithuanian Army after the resignation of Stasys Raštikis in January 1940. In this capacity, Vitkauskas opposed armed resistance to the Soviet occupation in June 1940 and subsequently collaborated with the new Soviet regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of Defence (Lithuania)</span> Chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces

Chief of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania is Chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the national defence organisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithuanian Armed Forces Headquarters Band</span> Musical unit in the Lithuanian Armed Forces

The Lithuanian Armed Forces Headquarters Band, also known as the LKO HQ Band is a Lithuanian musical unit stationed in Vilnius, being attached to the Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion and one of 5 that are based in the country. It is the largest professional military band in Lithuania as well as in the military bands in the other Baltic States, being larger than the Kaitseväe Orkester and the Central Military Band of the Latvian National Armed Forces. The band is currently led by Egidijus Ališauskas, with assistance from the deputy commander, Lieutenant Dainius Pavilionis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithuanian Air Force Band</span> Musical unit in the Lithuanian Armed Forces

The Lithuanian Air Force Band is a Lithuanian musical group representing the Lithuanian Air Force which participates in military parades, celebrations, funeral ceremonies, as well as concerts for the public. It was founded in Vilnius on 12 May 1994 as two separate orchestras. On 21 March 2001, the Commander of the Air Force and the Minister of National Defense ordered the merger of the two orchestras to become the representative air force orchestra. The orchestra has 29 musicians and is led by Captain Ričardas Kukulskis and Captain Remigijus Terminas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defence Staff (Lithuania)</span> Military unit

The Defence Staff is the main staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Since 2008, the staff reports to the Chief of Defence. Its main tasks are to plan, lead, and support military operations as well as to prepare strategic military plans.

Major general Jonas Andriškevičius was a Lithuanian military figure and ex-Soviet military officer. He was the first Chief of Defence of Lithuania. He served in this position from 20 October 1993 to 1 July 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonas Kronkaitis</span>

Major general Jonas Algirdas Kronkaitis is a former Lithuanian military figure and ex-American military officer who served as the second Chief of Defence of Lithuania in the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithuanian People's Army</span> Armed forces of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

The Lithuanian People's Army were short-lived armed forces of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic following the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940. The army was formed by the Act of 3 July 1940 of the People's Government of Lithuania and replaced the Lithuanian Armed Forces of independent Lithuania. According to data from 1 June 1940, the army had 28,115 persons – 26,084 soldiers, 2,031 civil servants, and with the announcement of the mobilization it was possible to call 120,400 reserve troops. The army existed until 30 August 1940 before being transformed into the 29th Rifle Corps of the Red Army. Many Lithuanian soldiers and officers were repressed by arrests or executions for their anti-Soviet attitude.

Together with the Vytis is a minor right-wing political party in Lithuania which was founded in 2007. It is led by engineer Vaclovas Žutautas. The party has not achieved significant success in Lithuanian elections.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 NATO. "Lieutenant General Valdas Tutkus, Chief of Defence of the Lithuanian Armed Forces". NATO. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
  2. ↑ "Valdas Tutkus". www.vle.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2021-05-23.
  3. ↑ "1453 Dėl pulkininko V.Tutkaus skyrimo Lietuvos kariuomenės lauko pajėgų vadu". e-seimas.lrs.lt.
  4. ↑ "118 Dėl V. Tutkaus skyrimo Lietuvos Respublikos kariuomenės vadu". e-seimas.lrs.lt.
  5. ↑ "NATO Biographies: Chief of Defence of the Lithuanian Armed Forces". www.nato.int.
  6. ↑ "V.Tutkus traukiasi". lzinios.lt. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Tutkus, Valdas (2023-11-15). "Valdas Tutkus – Principinės Programinės Nuostatos". Partija "Kartu su Vyčiu" (in Lithuanian).
  8. ↑ "Buvęs Lietuvos kariuomenės vadas Tutkus sieks prezidento posto". Delfi (in Lithuanian). 2023-10-05.
  9. ↑ "1583 Dėl apdovanojimo vardiniu ginklu". e-seimas.lrs.lt.
  10. ↑ "1K-1899 Dėl Valdo Tutkaus apdovanojimo Vyčio Kryžiaus ordino Komandoro didžiuoju kryžiumi". e-seimas.lrs.lt.
  11. ↑ "2042 Dėl Lietuvos Respublikos ir užsienio valstybių piliečių apdovanojimo Lietuvos Valstybės ordinais ..." e-seimas.lrs.lt.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.