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Remigijus Žemaitaitis

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Remigijus Žemaitaitis
Member of the Seimas
In office
15 November 2009 – 29 April 2024[1]
Personal details
Born (1982-05-30) 30 May 1982 (age 42)
Šilutė, Lithuania
Political partyOrder and Justice (2013–19)
Freedom and Justice (2019–23)
Dawn of Nemunas (since 2023)
SpouseŽivilė Žemaitaitienė[2]
Children2
Alma materVilnius University

Remigijus Žemaitaitis (born 30 May 1982) is a Lithuanian right-wing politician[3] and member of the Seimas, known for his antisemitic statements.[4][5][6][7] He is the founder and leader of the political party Dawn of Nemunas.

Biography

Žemaitaitis was born on 30 May 1982 in Šilutė.[2][8] In 2005, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at Vilnius University. Until 2007 he worked as a lawyer and assistant at courts. Between 2007 and 2009 he worked as an assistant to the mayor of Vilnius and, later, to members of the European Parliament Juozas Imbrasas and Rolandas Paksas. The latter had previously served as President of Lithuania.

A member of the Order and Justice party, Žemaitaitis was elected to the Tenth Seimas in 2009, in the by-election in the single-seat constituency of Šilutė–Šilalė.[9] He was reelected to the Eleventh Seimas in 2012. He was elected the chairman of the Economics Committee at the parliament.[10]

In elections in 2016, Žemaitaitis headed the electoral list of Order and Justice.[11] After these elections, party's leader Rolandas Paksas resigned. Žemaitaitis became the interim leader of the party.

In 2018, the party suffered splits and its support declined. After 2019 presidential election, the Order and Justice joined the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union-led government. According coalition's agreement, Žemaitaitis became the Deputy Speaker of Seimas. Two months later, the Order and Justice parliamentary group dissolved itself and Žemaitaitis became unaffiliated member of Seimas. In November, 2019, Žemaitaitis was removed from the Deputy Speaker's position after vote of no confidence.

In 2020, the Lithuanian Freedom Union (Liberals), the Order and Justice and the movement "Forward, Lithuania" merged into the Freedom and Justice party. Žemaitaitis was elected its leader.

On 27 January 2024, Žemaitaitis announced that he would run as a candidate in the 2024 presidential election.[12] He finished in fourth place overall, receiving 9.21% of the vote in the first round of the election held on 12 May.[13]

Žemaitaitis participated in the 2024 parliamentary election as the leader of the Dawn of Nemunas party. He received 47.83% of the vote in the Kelmė–Šilalė constituency in the first round, and was thus one of only eight candidates in the country who won a single-member seat without having to compete in a run-off.[14] The party came in third place overall, receiving 14.97% of the vote and securing 20 members in parliament. Dawn of Nemunas received a plurality of the vote in much of western Lithuania (Samogitia and Lithuania Minor).[15] Following the election, the Dawn of Nemunas and Union of Democrats "For Lithuania" parties were invited to join a ruling coalition led by the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, which finished first overall.[7][16]

Controversies

In September 2018, while giving an interview to a Russian-language weekly newspaper Ekspress nedelya, Žemaitaitis stated that he was against what he referred to as "anti-Russian sanctions" and advocated for talks.[17][18]

In November 2022, while going for a visit to Belarus, under the invitation of Žemaitaitis, lawmaker and member of the far-right party Alternative for Germany Petr Bystron visited Lithuania.[19]

Antisemitism

Between May and June 2023, Žemaitaitis publicly made five anti-Semitic posts on Facebook.[20] The comments were strongly criticised and condemned by Lithuanian politicians, the Lithuanian Jewish community, and a number of ambassadors in Lithuania. On 19 May 2023, Freedom and Justice temporarily suspended Žemaitaitis' membership in party due to his antisemitic statements.[21] During his remarks in Parliament, Žemaitaitis asserted that his statements were targeted towards Israel's actions against Palestinians, before the start of the 2023 war,[22] and afterwards clarified that he would support a death sentence for Benjamin Netanyahu.[23] He denounced the investigations into them as political repression and character assassination.[22] In April 2024, the Constitutional Court decided that the politician had broken his oath as a member of Seimas and violated the country's Constitution. Right after that, in order to avoid the vote on removal from the parliament, Žemaitaitis resigned as the member of the Seimas.[24][25][1] Following his suspension, he left the Freedom and Justice party and founded the party Dawn of Nemunas (Nemuno aušra).[26]

In November 2024, the Lithuanian Police began investigation of another Facebook post made by Žemaitaitis, in which he called for protestors to gather with candles in front of the home of Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuania's first post-Soviet leader and the former head of the opposing Homeland Union party.[27] This post was made as a response to a protest that was planned to be held in Independence Square in Vilnius against the inclusion of Dawn of Nemunas in the ruling Seimas coalition.[28]

Political views

Žemaitaitis describes himself as a conservative liberal.[29]

Žemaitaitis is opposed to legalization of multiple citizenship in Lithuania, and supports civil unions for same-sex couples, but not same-sex marriage. He abstained on the 26 May 2022 vote on a compromise civil union bill in the Seimas.[30] He is opposed to the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.[31]

In 2017, he proposed the restoration of the death penalty in Lithuania.[32]

Personal life

Remigijus Žemaitaitis is married to Živilė Žemaitaitienė. They have two children.[8] His hobbies include fishing, traveling, reading, and cooking.[33] In addition to his native Lithuanian, he speaks English and Russian.[33]

As of 2023, Žemaitaitis was the fifth-wealthiest member of the Seimas, with 940,000 euros in declared assets.[34]

References

  1. ^ a b Lyberytė, Augustė (29 April 2024). "Žemaitaitis atsisako Seimo nario mandato". LRT (in Lithuanian).
  2. ^ a b "Member of the Seimas". Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Sudie, Remigijau: VRK panaikino R. Žemaitaičio mandatą, jo vieta Seime bus tuščia". www.alfa.lt.
  4. ^ "Žemaitaitis toliau žarstosi antisemitiniais pareiškimais: piktinasi premjerės vizitu Izraelyje, kalba apie lietuvių holokaustą". lrt.lt. 14 June 2023.
  5. ^ Jakubauskas, Ramūnas. ""Labai gajus antisemitizmas": istorikai įvertino naują R.Žemaitaičio pareiškimą". 15min.lt.
  6. ^ "Holokausto memorialo vadovas apie Žemaitaitį: antisemitams Lietuvos Seime neturi būti vietos". Delfi.
  7. ^ a b Higgins, Andrew (8 November 2024). "Party Whose Leader Is Known for Antisemitism to Join Lithuanian Government". New York Times.
  8. ^ a b "2020 parliamentary election. Candidate biography: Remigijus Žemaitaitis". Central Election Commission. 2020.
  9. ^ "Išankstiniai duomenys: Į Seimą išrinktas R.Pakso bendražygis R.Žemaitaitis". TV3.lt. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  10. ^ ""Tvarkietis" Remigijus Žemaitaitis vadovaus Seimo Ekonomikos komitetui". 15min.lt. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  11. ^ ""Tvarkiečius" į rinkimus ves Remigijus Žemaitaitis". Vakarų Ekspresas. BNS. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  12. ^ Jaruševičiūtė-Mockuvienė, Gailė (22 January 2024). "Žemaitaitis skelbia kandidatuosiantis prezidento rinkimuose". LRT (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  13. ^ "2024 m. gegužės 12 d. Respublikos Prezidento rinkimai (I turas)". Central Election Commission. 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  14. ^ Datkūnas, Dominykas (14 October 2024). "Pirmame rinkimų ture išrinkti 8 vienmandatininkai". Delfi.lt (in Lithuanian).
  15. ^ "Rezultatai - Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo rinkimai 2024". rinkimai.maps.lt. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Social Democrats invite two parties to form Lithuania's ruling coalition". lrt.lt. 7 November 2024.
  17. ^ Pankūnas, Gytis (10 September 2018). "Rusijos propagandos įrankiui "Ekspress nedelia" interviu davęs R. Žemaitaitis: su jais reikia kalbėtis daugiau" (in Lithuanian).
  18. ^ "Po interviu apie sankcijas Rusijai R. Žemaitaitis priverstas aiškintis". Lrytas (in Lithuanian). 10 September 2018.
  19. ^ "LRT tyrimas. Vokietijos ultradešinieji vizitą į Lietuvos Seimą išnaudojo kelionei į Baltarusiją". LRT (in Lithuanian). 8 February 2023.
  20. ^ Constitutional Court of Lithuania (25 April 2024). "KT: Seimo narys Remigijus Žemaitaitis sulaužė priesaiką ir šiurkščiai pažeidė Konstituciją" (in Lithuanian). Teise.Pro. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  21. ^ "„Laisvė ir teisingumas" stabdo Žemaitaičio narystę partijoje". lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). 19 May 2023.
  22. ^ a b Skėrytė, Jūratė (21 November 2023). "Seimas apsisprendė pradėti apkaltą Žemaitaičiui ir kreipėsi į Konstitucinį Teismą". LRT (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  23. ^ Miškinis, Vytenis (3 September 2024). "Dėl neapykantos kurstymo prieš žydus teisiamas Žemaitaitis: laukiu, kada Benjaminas Netanyahu bus nuteistas mirties bausme". Delfi (in Lithuanian).
  24. ^ "KT: Seimo narys R.Žemaitaitis sulaužė priesaiką ir pažeidė Konstituciją".
  25. ^ "KT sulaužiusiu priesaiką pripažintas R.Žemaitaitis žada atsisakyti parlamentaro mandato".
  26. ^ "R.Žemaitaitis patvirtintas naujai įkurtos partijos "Nemuno aušra" pirmininku". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). 11 November 2023.
  27. ^ Jakučionis, Saulius (11 November 2024). "Policija pradėjo ikiteisminį tyrimą dėl R.Žemaitaičio įrašo feisbuke". 15min (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  28. ^ "People in Vilnius to protest against new coalition". lrt.lt. 12 November 2024.
  29. ^ Jurčenkaitė, Indrė (9 February 2020). "Trys "konservatyvūs liberalai": sutaria dėl homoseksualų partnerystės, bet ne dėl mirties bausmės". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian).
  30. ^ "Civilinės sąjungos įstatymo projektas (Nr. XIVP-1694) (Balsavimo rezultatas)". lrs.lt.
  31. ^ "Remigijus Žemaitaitis". Mano balsas (in Lithuanian).
  32. ^ "Seimo nario R. Žemaitaičio pranešimas: "Parlamentaras kreipėsi į Europos Komisijos Pirmininką ir į Europos Vadovų Tarybos Pirmininką dėl mirties bausmės atitikties ES teisei"". Seimas (in Lithuanian). 13 March 2017.
  33. ^ a b "2024 parliamentary election. Candidate biography: Remigijus Žemaitaitis". Central Election Commission. 2024.
  34. ^ Biržietis, Dominykas (27 June 2024). "Who are the richest Lithuanian MPs?". lrt.lt.
Seimas
Preceded by Member of the Seimas for Šilalė and Šilutė/Southern Samogitia/Kelmė and Šilalė
2009–present 		Incumbent


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