Valdas Adamkus at 100: the president London also knew

A life between two worlds

According to Lithuania Post, Adamkus was born on 3 November 1926 in Kaunas. During the war he took part in the resistance against the Nazis. In 1944 he left for Germany, and in 1949 he left for the US. There, according to LRT, he took an active part in the life of the Lithuanian community in the US. He served two terms as President of Lithuania: 1998 to 2003 and 2004 to 2009.

The Lithuanian World Community (PLB), as LRT Lituanica reports, stressed in its birthday greeting: “Living in the diaspora, he tirelessly nurtured Lithuanian identity, fought for Lithuania’s freedom and united Lithuanians abroad”.

Ties with the United Kingdom

According to the Embassy of Lithuania in the UK, Adamkus made an official visit to London from 13 to 15 February 2008. He met Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband, and on 15 February he was received by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. During the visit the President presented Margaret Thatcher with the Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great, and the 90th anniversary of the Act of 16 February was marked together with representatives of the Lithuanian community in the UK.

The commemoration took place on the evening of 13 February at the Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill hotel. Thatcher attended, and it was here that the President presented her with the Order. According to the Londono Žinios newsroom, the newspaper was officially invited to the event as a guest of honour.

In 2022 Adamkus recalled to LRT: “I had the honour of meeting her four times”. In October 2006 the Queen visited Lithuania. According to Adamkus, it was the first official visit in history by a Queen of England to Lithuania.

How the anniversary is being marked

Today Lithuania Post issued a stamp dedicated to the anniversary (face value 1.65 euros, print run 15,000). LRT English reports on a conference at Vilnius Town Hall, a musical tribute in Kaunas and an evening gala at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

According to the LRT schedule, the gala broadcast from the theatre on LRT Televizija and LRT Lituanica is scheduled to begin at 18:30 Lithuanian time (16:30 UK time).

Based on: Lithuania Post’s announcement (3 November 2026), LRT (3 November 2026; 9 September 2022), LRT Lituanica (3 November 2026), LRT English (BNS, 3 November 2026), the LRT schedule (3 November 2026), information from the Embassy of Lithuania in the UK on the 2008 visit, the magazine Stilius (24 February 2008, by Kristina Sabaliauskaitė), information from the Londono Žinios newsroom and the Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (Universal Lithuanian Encyclopaedia) (year of the visit).

Republication must credit Londonozinios.com as the source.