“The President of the Republic: 1) shall decide the basic issues of foreign policy and, together with the Government, conduct foreign policy; 2) shall sign international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania and submit them to the Seimas for ratification; 3) shall, upon submission by the Government, appoint and recall the diplomatic representatives of the Republic of Lithuania to foreign states and international organisations; shall receive the letters of credence and recall of the diplomatic representatives of foreign states; and shall confer the highest diplomatic ranks and special titles; 4) shall, upon the assent of the Seimas, appoint the Prime Minister; shall charge the Prime Minister with forming the Government; and shall approve the composition of the formed Government; 5) shall, upon the assent of the Seimas, release the Prime Minister from duties; 6) shall accept the powers returned by the Government upon the election of a new Seimas and charge the Government with exercising its duties until a new Government is formed; 7) shall accept the resignation of the Government and, when necessary, charge it with continuing to exercise its duties, or charge one of the Ministers with exercising the duties of the Prime Minister, until a new Government is formed; shall accept the resignations of Ministers and may charge them with exercising their duties until a new respective Minister is appointed; 8) shall, upon the resignation of the Government or after it returns its powers, within 15 days, propose the candidate for the post of the Prime Minister for consideration by the Seimas; 9) shall appoint and release Ministers upon submission by the Prime Minister; 10) shall, according to the established procedure, appoint and release state officials provided for by law; 11) shall propose candidates for the posts of the justices of the Supreme Court for consideration by the Seimas and, upon the appointment of all the justices of the Supreme Court, propose the candidate from among them for the post of the President of the Supreme Court to be appointed by the Seimas; shall appoint the judges of the Court of Appeal and, from among them, the President of the Court of Appeal, provided that the Seimas gives its assent to the candidates proposed; shall appoint the judges and presidents of regional and local courts and change their places of work; in cases provided for by law, shall submit that the Seimas release judges from their duties; shall, upon the assent of the Seimas, appoint and release the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania; 12) shall propose candidates for the posts of three justices of the Constitutional Court and, upon the appointment of all the justices of the Constitutional Court, propose the candidate from among them for the post of the President of the Constitutional Court to be appointed by the Seimas; 13) shall propose candidates for the posts of the Auditor General and the Chairperson of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania for consideration by the Seimas; may submit that the Seimas express no confidence in them; 14) shall, upon the assent of the Seimas, appoint and release the Commander of the Armed Forces and the Head of the Security Service; 15) shall confer the highest military ranks; 16) shall, in the event of an armed attack threatening the sovereignty of the State or its territorial integrity, adopt decisions concerning defence against the armed aggression, the imposition of martial law, as well as mobilisation, and submit these decisions for approval at the next sitting of the Seimas; 17) shall declare a state of emergency according to the procedure and in cases established by law and present this decision for approval at the next sitting of the Seimas; 18) shall make annual reports at the Seimas on the situation in Lithuania and the domestic and foreign policies of the Republic of Lithuania; 19) shall, in cases provided for in the Constitution, convene an extraordinary session of the Seimas; 20) shall call regular elections to the Seimas and, in cases provided for in the second paragraph of Article 58 of the Constitution, call early elections to the Seimas; 21) shall grant citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania according to the procedure established by law; 22) shall confer state awards; 23) shall grant pardons to convicted persons; 24) shall sign and promulgate laws adopted by the Seimas or refer them back to the Seimas according to the procedure established in Article 71 of the Constitution.”
This article lists the President's 24 powers. The President decides the basic issues of foreign policy, signs international treaties, appoints the Prime Minister with the assent of the Seimas, nominates judges, calls Seimas elections, grants citizenship, confers state awards, grants pardons, and signs and promulgates laws.
Lithuanian citizenship by naturalisation is granted by a presidential decree, and every law adopted by the Seimas takes effect only after the President signs and promulgates it or refers it back to the Seimas for reconsideration.
Common questions: who grants citizenship, who appoints the Prime Minister (the President with the assent of the Seimas), who grants pardons, who signs laws. Memorise the numbers: 15 days to propose a Prime Minister candidate, 3 Constitutional Court justice nominations.
Practice with questions about this article