Constituent Assembly of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Steigiamasis Seimas) was democratically elected in 1920 to draft and adopt the 1922 constitution of Lithuania. The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania defines the legal foundation for all laws passed in the Republic of Lithuania. ...

Historical background

Since 1795 Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire. At the end of the World War I, on February 16, 1918, Council of Lithuania declared Lithuania's independence. The act of declaration called for forming Constituent Assembly as soon as possible. However, Lithuania remained under German control till Wilhelmshaven mutiny took place in fall 1918. On November 2, 1918 the first draft of constitution of Lithuania was adopted. On November 11, the same as the final armistice treaty ending World War I was signed, the first government of Lithuania was formed. Augustinas Voldemaras became the first prime minister. In December 1918, Red Army invaded the country. Freedom wars started. By the end of 1919 Red Army and Bermontians were successfully pushed from the territory of Lithuania. The state institutions and infrastructure started to form. Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead:5 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:8 million Military dead:4 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:7 million The First World... The Wilhelmshaven mutiny broke out in the German High Seas Fleet on 29 October 1918. The mutiny ultimately led to the end of the First World War, to the collapse of the Monarchy and to the establishment of the Weimar Republic. ... The armistice treaty between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage in woods near Compiègne on November 11th, 1918, and marked the end of the First World War on the Western Front. ... Augustinas Voldemaras (April 16, 1883_December 16, 1942 was a Lithuanian nationalist who served as the countrys first prime minister 1918, and again from 1926 to 1929. ... The Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of the executive arm of Lithuanias government, and is chosen by the Lithuanian parliament. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... Bermontians were Russian troops who were at first taken as POWs by Germany in World War I and then released on the promise that they would help fighting against the communists in the Russian civil war. ...

Representatives

The law describing the procedures of electing and the powers of the Constituent Assembly was adopted on October 30, 1919. The elections were held only on April 14-15, 1920. The voter turnout reached about 90%. The voters, both men and women, elected 112 representatives. The majority, 59 seats, was taken by Christian democrats. 28 seats were taken by Peasants' Union and socialists, 12 by social democrats, 10 by minorities - Jews, Poles, and Germans. The rest 3 representatives were independent. Only 8 representatives were older than 50. 5 of the representatives were women. In fact, Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė, a famous Lithuanian female writer, chaired the first session honoring the tradition that before the chair is elected, the oldest member acts as chair. As time passed, 38 members of the assembly resigned and were replaced. So in total there were 150 members of the Constituent Assembly. Men turning out to vote in the Australian 1899 Federation referendum. ... Christian Democracy is a heterogeneous political ideology. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ...

Vilnius region, under Polish control, and Klaipėda region, under French control, could not take part in the elections. However, the election law reserved 108 seats for Vilnius and 9 for Klaipėda regions. Therefore, there should have been 229 elected representatives. Territory of Central Lithuania (green) as compared with other Lithuanian claims on neighbouring countries Vilnius region (Lithuanian Vilniaus kraÅ¡tas) refers to a part of historical Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that was disputed between Poland and Lithuania between Polish-Bolshevik War and World War II. Although a part of Poland in... KlaipÄ—da Region (Memel Region, Memelland) is the name of the part of Lithuania Minor consisting of the coastland around KlaipÄ—da (formerly known as Memel) and along the Curonian Lagoon, on the right bank of Neman River. ...

Accomplishments

The first meeting took place on May 15, 1920 in Kaunas, the temporary capital. They declared that Lithuania is going to pursue independence declared on February 16, 1918. Also Aleksandras Stulginskis was elected as the chairman and de facto president. As soon as June 10, 1920 it passed the third and the final draft of the constitution. Location Ethnographic region Aukštaitija County Kaunas County Municipality Kaunas city municipality Elderate Number of elderates 11 Coordinates 54°54′N 23°56′E General information Capital of Kaunas County Kaunas district municipality Kaunas city municipality Population (rank) 361,274 in 2005 (2nd) First mentioned 1361 Granted city rights 1408... Temporary capital (Lithuanian Laikinoji sostinė) was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. ... Aleksandras Stulginskis (February 26, 1885 in Kutaliai, Lithuania-September 22, 1969) was the second President of Lithuania (1920-1926). ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without...

On June 12, 1920 a peace treaty was signed with the Russian SFSR. It was highly beneficial to Lithuania as Russia recognized its independence de jure (the first state to do so after 1918) and acknowledged that vast areas of Vilnius region belong to Lithuania. Shortly after the defeat in the Battle of Warsaw, the withdrawing Red Army handed Vilnius over to Lithuania, in accordance with the agreement. State motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Workers of the world, unite!) Official language None (Russian in practice) Capital Moscow (last) Chairman of the Supreme Council Boris Yeltsin Established In the USSR:  - Since  - Until November 7, 1917 December 30, 1922 December 12, 1991 Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 1st in former Soviet Union 17,075,200... Look up De jure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The terms de jure and de facto are used instead of in principle and in practice, respectively, when one is describing political situations. ... Territory of Central Lithuania (green) as compared with other Lithuanian claims on neighbouring countries Vilnius region (Lithuanian Vilniaus kraÅ¡tas) refers to a part of historical Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that was disputed between Poland and Lithuania between Polish-Bolshevik War and World War II. Although a part of Poland in... Warsaw in Poland has been the site of several battles in history. ...

From October 1920 till February 1921, the Constituent Assembly was adjourned because the Lithuanian-Belarusian Division of the Polish Army under General Lucjan Żeligowski seized Vilnius. Many representatives went to the front to defend the historic capital. Before adjourning it had created the so-called Small Seimas (Lithuanian: Mažasis Seimas) consisting of the Chairman and six members of the regular Constituent Assembly who were authorized to pass urgent laws. Wojsko Polskie (WP, Polish Army) is the name applied to the military forces of Poland. ... Lucjan Å»eligowski (1865-1947), was a Polish general, veteran of the Great War, Polish-Bolshevik War and the World War II. He is best known as the head of a short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania. ... Location Ethnographic region DzÅ«kija County Vilnius County Municipality Vilnius city municipality Elderate Number of elderates 20 Coordinates General information Capital of Lithuania Vilnius County Vilnius city municipality Vilnius district municipality Population (rank) 540,318 in 2005 (1st) First mentioned 1323 Granted city rights 1387 Vilnius ( (help· info), Belarusian: , Polish...

In March 1921, after an international arbitration a border treaty with Latvia was signed. 21 km of coastline with Palanga and Šventoji towns were transferred to Lithuania. It also defended its interest in Mažeikiai city. In return, Latvia received so-called Aknysta foreland (Latvian: Aknīste) north from Rokiškis. In total, Latvia gained about 100 km² more than Lithuania. This treaty solved all border conflicts with Latvia and the border remains the same today. It became a foundation for good and healthy cooperation between the two nations. Arbitration is a form of mediation or conciliation, where the mediating party is given power by the disputant parties to settle the dispute by making a finding. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... Feliks Tyszkiewicz palace in Palanga. ... Mažeikiai Coat Of Arms Mažeikiai is a town in the north-western part of Lithuania, on the Venta river. ... Location Ethnographic region AukÅ¡taitija County Panevėžys County Municipality RokiÅ¡kis district municipality Elderate RokiÅ¡kis town elderate Number of elderates Coordinates {{{coordinates}}} General information Capital of RokiÅ¡kis district municipality RokiÅ¡kis town elderate RokiÅ¡kis rural elderate Population (rank) 16,746 in 2001 (22nd) First mentioned 1499... A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ...

On September 23, 1921 Lithuania became member of the League of Nations. Most world countries recognized the independence right afterwards. The League of Nations was an international organization founded after the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. ...

On February 15, 1922 it passed law on land reform. It was a decade-long reform when land owned by nobility was nationalized and distributed to the volunteers who fought at Freedom wars and peasants who owned none or very little land. This way Lithuania's agriculture was based on small (20-50 ha) farms. Over the years 459,000 ha of land was distributed to over 65,000 people. The nobility was allowed to keep 80 ha of land and was reimbursed an average of 27 litas per ha for nationalized land. People who received land, except for the volunteers, were required to pay for the land over the course of 36 years. Freedom wars refers to the three wars Lithuania had to fight defending its area from the opposing forces at the end of World War 1. ... A hectare (symbol ha) is a unit of area, equal to 10,000 square meters, commonly used for measuring land area. ...

The main goal, to adopt a new constitution, was reached on August 1, 1922. The constitution granted broad powers to Seimas, the Parlament. It selected the Cabinet of Ministers and elected the President. Seimas and the president are elected every three years in democratic elections. Lithuania was declared a democratic republic modeled after example of France. Because of Christian democrats majority, the constitution clearly reflected Christian ideas. For example, it established that religious education is mandatory and its preamble starts with the words "In the name of Almighty God" (Lithuanian: Vardan Dievo Visagalio). Seimas is the Lithuanian parliament. ... A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... Look up Preamble in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

On September 9 a law was passed on national currency litas. On October 1, it was introduced. Litas became one of the stronger currencies in Europe. The litas (ISO currency code LTL, symbolized as Lt; Lithuanian plural form is litai) is the official currency of Lithuania. ...

On October 6, 1922 the Constituent Assembly resigned. A new regular Seimas started on November 13. The assembly passed approximately 150 laws, strengthened the state's administrative system, and laid foundations of economic, social and cultural life of Lithuania.

References

• Constituent Assembly (Seimas) 1920 - 1922, Seimas
• Gimtoji istorija, Nuo 7 iki 12 klasės (Lietuvos istorijos vadovėlis), CD, 2002, ISBN 9986-9216-7-8