Council of Lithuania

Historical background and Vilnius Conference

After the last Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Lithuania had become part of the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, the Poles and Lithuanians attempted to restore their independence. They rebelled during the November Uprising in 1830 and the January Uprising in 1863, but the first realistic opportunity came about during World War I. In 1915, Germany occupied Lithuania as its troops marched towards Russia. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, opportunities for independence opened up. Germany, avoiding direct annexation, tried to find a middle path that would involve some form of union with Germany. However, the conference, held between 18 and 23 September 1917, adopted a resolution that an independent Lithuania should be established and that a closer relationship with Germany would depend on whether it recognized the new state.

Membership

Main article: Signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania

The twenty men who composed the initial council were of different ages (the youngest was 25; the oldest 66), social statuses, professions, and political affiliations. There were eight lawyers, four priests, three agronomists, two financiers, a doctor, a publisher, and an engineer. Eight of the members were Christian democrats and seven were not affiliated. All except one had gained degrees in tertiary education. The council's last surviving member, Aleksandras Stulginskis, died in September 1969.

During the first meeting on 24 September, Antanas Smetona was elected as chairman of the council. The chairman, two vice-chairmen, and two secretaries made up the presidium. The vice-chairs and secretaries would change from time to time, but Smetona retained the chairmanship until 1919 when he was elected the first President of Lithuania. After the capture of Minsk by the Bolshevik army, hoping some level of autonomy within the Lithuanian state, six members of the Vilnius Belarusian Council joined the Council of Lithuania (Vaclau Lastouski, Ivan Luckievich, Jan Stankievič, Dominik Semashko, Władysław Tołoczko, Kazimierz Falkiewic) on 27 November 1918. Sharing similar hopes for autonomy, three Jewish activists joined the Council on 11 December 1918.

By the spring of 1919, the council had almost doubled in size.

Declaration of Independence

Main article: Act of Independence of Lithuania

Soon after the council was elected, major developments took place in Russia. The October Revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power. They signed a truce with Germany on 2 December 1917 and started peace negotiations. Germany needed some documentation of its relationship with Lithuania. In the so-called Berlin Protocol, Germany offered to recognize Lithuanian independence if the latter agreed to form a firm and permanent federation with Germany, based on conventions concerning military affairs, transportation, customs, and currency. The council agreed, on the condition that Lithuania would decide its own internal affairs and foreign policy. The Germans rejected this proposal. On 11 December, the council adopted a resolution agreeing to a "firm and permanent alliance" with Germany on the basis of the four conventions. Only fifteen members voted for this resolution, but all twenty signed it.

The Germans broke their promise and did not recognize the state and did not invite its delegation to the negotiations of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Lithuanians, including those living abroad, disapproved of the 11 December declaration. On 8 January 1918, the same day that Woodrow Wilson announced his Fourteen Points, the council proposed amendments to the declaration of 11 December calling for a constituent assembly. The amendments were rejected by the Germans and it was made clear that the council would serve only advisory functions.

Establishing independence

The Germans were not satisfied with the new declaration and demanded that the council go back to the 11 December decision. The form of government, however, was left undecided. Germany, ruled by a Kaiser, preferred a monarchy. It proposed a personal union with the Prussian Hohenzollern dynasty.

Germany did not recognize the new king and its relationship with the council remained tense.

The Freedom Wars started and political processes were derailed during the turmoil. Lithuanian elections to the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania were not held until April 1920. The council was not replaced by a parliament (Seimas) until 2 August 1922, when the Constitution of Lithuania was adopted.

References

References

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