Dalia Grybauskaitė served as President of Lithuania from 2009 to 2019, becoming the country’s first female president and the only one in post-Soviet Lithuania to serve two consecutive terms.

In 2000, Grybauskaitė was appointed Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister and took a leadership role within the delegation responsible for negotiating Lithuania’s accession to the European Union. She then served as Finance Minister (2001–2004), advocating for privatization and liberalization reforms. From 2004 to 2009, she was the European Union Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budgets, earning the title of “Commissioner of the Year” in 2005.

She also served as Minister Plenipotentiary in Lithuania’s missions to both the EU and the United States, as well as leading economic diplomacy efforts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She also played a crucial role as Chief Negotiator for Lithuania’s Free Trade Agreement with the EU.

In 2009, following the global economic crisis, Grybauskaitė left her EU post to run as an independent candidate in Lithuania’s presidential election. During her presidency, she prioritized economic recovery, military readiness, and Lithuania’s security, notably supporting NATO’s enhanced forward presence in the country.

Activity after Public Life

Dalia Grybauskaitė remains widely popular with the Lithuanian public after ending her second and final presidential term. She continues to speak widely on women’s leadership, gender equality, sustainable development, economic transparency and accountability. In 2024, Grybauskaitė was awarded the Hillary Clinton award for exceptional leadership in promoting women’s rights and creating a more secure world.

In addition to her political career, Grybauskaitė holds a doctorate in Economics from the Moscow Academy of Public Sciences. She has also been recognised with an honorary Doctor  of Humane Letters from Georgetown University.

Affiliations and Memberships

• Co-chair of the UN High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, transparency and Integrity (FACTI)
• Member, World Leadership Alliance
• Member, International Advisory Board of the US Atlantic Council Think Tank
• Member, Friends of Europe’s Ukraine Initiative Steering Group
• Member, Club de Madrid
• Council of Women World Leaders
• The Board of Trustees of ‘Friends of Europe’
• Member, High-Ranking International Task Force on Security and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine