The Seimas of the Lithuanian Republic (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Lithuania.
The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendments to the Constitution, passing the budget, confirming the Prime Minister and the Government and controlling their activities. The Seimas traces its origins to the Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as the Seimas of inter-war Lithuania. The first Seimas after the restoration of independence of Lithuania convened in 1992.
Its 141 members are elected for a four-year term, with 71 elected in individual constituencies, and 70 elected in a nationwide vote based on open list proportional representation. A party must receive at least 5%, and a multi-party union at least 7%, of the national vote to qualify for the proportional representation seats. Following the elections in 2024, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania is the largest party in the Seimas, signing an agreement to form a coalition government with the Union of Democrats "For Lithuania" and the Dawn of Nemunas.
History
Origins
From an etymological standpoint, the word is of Slavic origin, being derived from Polish sejmWojciech Smoczyński. (2025). Słownik etymologiczny języka litewskiego, p. 1584. via Ruthenian sejmъ, sėjmъ.Wojciech Smoczyński. (2025). Słownik etymologiczny języka litewskiego, p. 1584. The first traces of large nobility meetings can be found in the negotiations for Treaty of Salynas in 1398. However, it is considered that the first Seimas met in Hrodna in 1445 during talks between Casimir IV Jagiellon and the Council of Lords. As the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars raged, the Grand Duke needed more tax revenues to finance the army and had to call the Seimas more frequently. In exchange for increased taxation, the nobility demanded various privileges, including strengthening the Seimas.
At first the Seimas did not have the legislative power. It would debate on foreign and domestic affairs, taxes, wars and treasury. At this time, there were no rules regulating how frequently the Seimas would assemble, who could participate, how the sessions should take place or what functions the Seimas had. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Seimas acquired some legislative powers and could petition the Grand Duke to pass certain laws, which the Duke usually granted in exchange for nobility's support and cooperation in taxation and war matters.
Major reforms were carried out between 1564 and 1566, just before the Union of Lublin. In the Second Statute of Lithuania, the Seimas acquired full legislative powers, acting as the lower house of the parliament, with the Lithuanian Council of Lords as the upper house. It was at this point that elections to the Seimas were introduced (local nobles would elect their delegates) – any noble could participate in the Seimas before.
Seimas of the Grand Dutchy was abolished in 1569, with the Union of Lublin. The Union created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and joined the Seimas of Lithuania with the Sejm of Poland into a single Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. By this time, 40 Seimas of Lithuania had taken place.
Nobles of Lithuania continued to meet until the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth under the name of Lithuanian Convocations. They debated matters concerning the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or tried to establish a common position among Lithuanian delegates before departing for the Sejm of the Commonwealth.
The Sejm of the Commonwealth, General Sejm, was the parliament of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the Union of Lublin until the late 18th century. The sejm was a powerful political institution, and from early 16th century, the Polish king (who was the Grand Duke of Lithuania) could not pass laws without the approval of that body.
Duration and frequencies of the sejms changed over time, with the six-week sejm session convened every two years being most common. Sejm locations changed throughout history, eventually with the Commonwealth capital of Warsaw emerging as the primary location. The number of sejm deputies and senators grew over time, from about 70 senators and 50 deputies in the 15th century to about 150 senators and 200 deputies in the 18th century. Early sejms have seen mostly majority voting, but beginning in the 17th century, unanimous voting became more common, and 32 sejms were vetoed with the infamous liberum veto, particularly in the first half of the 18th century. This vetoing procedure has been credited with significantly paralyzing the Commonwealth governance. In addition, beginning in 1573, three special types of sejms handled the process of the royal election in the interregnum period.
assembly held on December 4 and 5, 1905 in Vilnius, Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, largely inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1905. It was the first modern national congress in Lithuania, with over 2,000 participants. The assembly made the decision to demand wide political autonomy within the Russian Empire and achieve this by peaceful means. It is considered an important step towards the Act of Independence of Lithuania, adopted on February 16, 1918 by the Council of Lithuania, as the Seimas laid the groundwork for the establishment of an independent Lithuanian state.
Interwar period
The first widely elected body in Lithuania after the declaration of independence on February 16, 1918, was the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania. The election was held on April 14–15, 1920. The voter turnout reached about 90%.
The primary role of the Constituent Assembly was to adopt the Constitution of Lithuania, which was accomplished on August 1, 1922. The new constitution gave broad powers to the parliament, the Seimas, elected to a three-year term. Seimas would select the Cabinet of Ministers and elect the President. In addition, the Constituent Assembly adopted numerous laws, including a broad land reform and introduced Litas as the national currency.
The First Seimas of Lithuania was the first parliament of Lithuania elected in accordance with the constitution of 1922. The election took place on October 10–11, 1922. However, no party was able to form a sustainable coalition and the Seimas was dissolved on March 12, 1923. New elections were held on May 12 and May 13.
The Second Seimas of Lithuania was the only regular interwar Seimas which completed its full three-year term. The Christian Democrats gained two additional seats which were enough to give them a slim majority. The Seimas continued the land reform, expanded the network of primary and secondary schools and introduced a system of social support. However, it did not bring political stability, as it saw several short-lived governments.
The Third Seimas of Lithuania was elected on May 8–10, 1926, with the Christian Democrats in opposition for the first time. The Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union and Social Democrats formed a coalition government which lifted martial law, restored democratic freedoms, and declared broad amnesty to political prisoners. However, the government was sharply criticized following some unpopular decisions. The Seimas was interrupted by 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état in December, when the democratically elected government was replaced with the authoritarian rule of Antanas Smetona. The Third Seimas was dissolved on March 12, 1927 and new elections were not called until 1936.
The Fourth Seimas of Lithuania was elected on 9 and 10 June 1936. Elections took place under the constitution of 1928, which had been proclaimed by president Smetona without the assent of the Seimas. The parliament was elected to a five-year term. With opposition parties effectively barred from participating, Lithuanian Nationalists Union got 42 (of 49) seats, with the remaining seven seats taken by the Young Lithuania, a youth branch of the Nationalists Union. The primary task of the new Seimas was to adopt a new constitution, which was accomplished on 11 February 1938. The new constitution provided for even more powers to the president.
After the Soviet ultimatum in June 1940 and subsequent occupation, the Fourth Seimas was dismissed and a puppet People's Seimas was elected in a heavily rigged elections, in order to give legal sanction to the occupation and annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union. The new parliament proclaimed the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, petitioned for admission to the Soviet Union (a petition that was accepted on August 3, 1940), adopted a new constitution and renamed itself to the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR, a rubber stamp legislature.
ParliamentSeatsTermPrime ministersConstituent Assembly1501920–1922Kazys GriniusFirst Seimas781922–1923Ernestas GalvanauskasSecond Seimas781923–1926Ernestas Galvanauskas, Antanas Tumėnas, Vytautas Petrulis, Leonas BistrasThird Seimas851926–1927Mykolas Sleževičius, Augustinas VoldemarasFourth Seimas491936–1940Juozas Tūbelis, Vladas Mironas, Jonas Černius, Antanas Merkys
Since 1990
On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian SSR proclaimed the independence of Lithuania from the Soviet Union, renaming itself the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania (also called Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas, and regarded as the Fifth Seimas). The council adopted the Provisional Basic Law that served as a temporary constitution and worked on the Constitution of Lithuania that was submitted and approved by voters in a referendum on October 25, 1992.
Seven elections of the Seimas have since taken place under the constitution.
The first election in independent Lithuania was held on October 25, 1992, with a run-off on November 15. The election was won by the (ex-communist) Democratic Labor Party of Lithuania, which gained 73 of the 141 seats in the Sixth Seimas. Algirdas Brazauskas was elected the first speaker of the Seimas on November 25, 1992, becoming the acting President on the same day. Česlovas Juršėnas then became the acting (and later permanent) Speaker of the Seimas. The period was plagued by poor economic situation and financial scandals, including one involving former Prime Minister Adolfas Šleževičius.
The election to the Seventh Seimas was held on October 20, 1996 with the run-off on November 10. The election was won by the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Conservative Party, which gained 70 seats and formed a coalition with the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party (16 seats). Later part of the term of the Seimas was again characterized by an economic crisis, brought about by the 1998 Russian financial crisis. In addition, several high-profile privatizations were undertaken, including that of Mazeikiu Nafta oil refinery. Vytautas Landsbergis served as the Speaker of the Seimas during the term.
The Eighth Seimas was elected on October 8, 2000. Liberal Union of Lithuania won the most seats of any party in the election, with 33, forming the government with New Union (Social Liberals) (its leader, Artūras Paulauskas becoming the Speaker of the Seimas), Lithuanian Centre Union and the Modern Christian Democrats. The coalition was short-lived and Algirdas Brazauskas, a social democrat, became the prime minister less than a year later. This term of the Seimas saw Lithuania fulfilling its long-term foreign policy goals of joining NATO and the European Union. Speaker of the Seimas Artūras Paulauskas also served for two months in 2004 as the Acting President of Lithuania after the impeachement of Rolandas Paksas and before the new election took place.