2024 in Lithuania

Events in the year 2024 in Lithuania.

← 2023 2022 2021 2024 in Lithuania → 2025 2026 2027
Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2024

Incumbents

• President: Gitanas Nausėda
• Prime Minister: Ingrida Šimonytė (until 12 December); Gintautas Paluckas (since 12 December)

Events

January

• 8–14 January – 2024 European Figure Skating Championships in Kaunas^[1]

March

• 27 March – 2024 Lithuanian presidential election: A Special Investigative committee of the Seimas releases its findings, accusing President Gitanas Nausėda of receiving illegal support from the head of the State Security Department and for recruiting members of the Belarusian and Russian security services for his election campaign. Nauseda rejects the findings, accusing them of being politically motivated.^[2]

April

• 27 April–3 May – 2024 IIHF World Championship Division I B in Vilnius^[3]

May

• 12 May –
  • 2024 Lithuanian presidential election: Lithuanians are called to the polls to elect the President of Lithuania.^[4] Incumbent President Gitanas Nausėda and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė advance to the run-off election.^[5]
  • 2024 Lithuanian constitutional referendum: A proposal to allow dual citizenship fails to pass due to insufficient turnout.^[6]
• 26 May – 2024 Lithuanian presidential election (second round): President Gitanas Nausėda wins reelection with 74.46% of the vote.^[7]
• 27 May – A court in Kaunas convicts Jonava District Municipality mayor Mindaugas Sinkevičius of abuse of office, falsification of documents, and misappropriation and imposes a 12,500 euro-fine on him as well as a ban on holding public office for three years.^[8]

June

• 9 June – 2024 European Parliament election: The Homeland Union emerges as the largest party in the Lithuanian contingent to the European Parliament.^[9]
• 26 June – The leaders of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia call on the European Union to construct a €2.5 billion (US$2.67 billion) defence line between them and Russia and Belarus to secure the EU from military, economic, and migrant-related threats.^[10]

July

• 16 July – The Baltic states announce their exit from the Russian and Belarusian electricity grids along with plans to synchronize their grid with the continental Europe grid effective 9 February 2025.^[11]
• 17 July – Lithuania issues a ban on Belarus-registered passenger vehicles entering its territory.^[12]
• 29 July – One person is killed in Vilnius by a falling tree during a storm that causes record amounts of rainfall in Šiauliai, Telšiai and Šilalė.^[13]

October

• 13 October – 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary election (first round): The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania emerges as the largest party in party-list voting, winning 18 of 70 contested seats.^[14][15]
• 27 October – 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary election (second round): The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania wins a plurality of seats in the Seimas, with 52 of 141 seats, while the ruling Homeland Union finishes at second with 20 seats.^[16]

November

• 9 November – The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, the Union of Democrats "For Lithuania" and the Dawn of Nemunas agree to form a coalition government.^[17]
• 17 November – A section of a submarine internet cable running under the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Sweden is severed, reducing internet capacity in Lithuania by a fifth.^[18]
• 19 November – Gintautas Paluckas of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania is nominated as prime minister by President Nausėda.^[19]
• 21 November – Gintautas Paluckas is confirmed as prime minister by the Seimas, having received 84 votes against 36 negative votes and six abstentions.^[20]
• 25 November – Swiftair Flight 5960: A Boeing 737-476(SF) aircraft operated by DHL for Swiftair crashes into a residential area in Vilnius, killing one person (captain) and injuring three others (2^nd pilot and two assistants).^[21][22]
• 29 November – Lithuania expels three staff of the Chinese embassy in Vilnius for violations of Lithuanian law and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.^[23]

December

• 9 December – A politician of the Homeland Union is arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia.^[24]
• 12 December – The Paluckas Cabinet is inaugurated.^[25]
• 15 December – Lithuania bans Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze from entering the country for overseeing human rights abuses in Georgia.^[26]
• 18 December – The Constitutional Court strikes down the Law on the Protection of Minors from Negative Effects of Public Information, which prohibited minors from being informed about same-sex relationships, as unconstitutional.^[27]
• 19 December – The Seimas bans nationals of Russia, Belarus, and China from joining the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union.^[28]

Art and entertainment

• List of Lithuanian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
• List of 2024 box office number-one films in Lithuania

Environment

• 7 February - 300 litres of crude oil spilled into the Baltic Sea near Būtingė oil terminal.^[29]

Holidays

Further information: Public holidays in Lithuania

Source:^[30]

• 1 January - New Year's Day
• 16 February – Independence Day
• 11 March - Independence Restoration Day
• 31 March - Easter Sunday
• 1 April - Easter Monday
• 1 May - International Workers' Day
• 5 May - Mother's Day
• 2 June - Father's Day
• 24 June - St. John's Day
• 6 July – Statehood Day
• 15 August - Assumption Day
• 1 November - All Saints' Day
• 24 December - Christmas Eve
• 25 December - Christmas Day
• 26 December – 2nd Day of Christmas

See also

• 2024 in the European Union
• 2024 in Europe
• Lithuania at the 2024 Summer Olympics

References

1. "Lithuania to host ISU European Figure Skating Championships in 2024". Lietuvos nacionalinis radijas ir televizija (LTR). 12 June 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
2. Свабода, Радыё (March 27, 2024). "У Літве скандал напярэдадні выбараў. Прэзыдэнта Наўседу абвінавацілі ў парушэньні прысягі і сувязях зь беларускім бізнэсам". Радыё Свабода.
3. "2024 metų IB diviziono pasaulio vyrų ledo ritulio čempionatas bus surengtas Vilniuje" [The 2024 Division IB World Men's Ice Hockey Championship will be held in Vilnius]. LTR (in Lithuanian). 26 May 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
4. "The forthcoming elections". Supreme Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
5. O'Carroll, Lisa (2024-05-13). "Lithuania set for presidential election run-off with incumbent Nausėda clear favourite". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
6. "Lithuania's citizenship referendum fails to pass constitutional amendments". lrt.lt. 2024-05-13. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
7. "Easy win and easier second term – what do Lithuanian presidential election results mean". lrt.lt. 2024-05-28. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
8. "Lithuania's Jonava District mayor found guilty of abuse of office, misappropriation". lrt.lt. 2024-05-27. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
9. "EP election in Lithuania: Conservatives, Social Democrats in the lead". lrt.lt. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
10. "Poland, Baltics call for EU defence line on border with Russia, Belarus". Reuters. June 27, 2024.
11. "Baltic countries notify Russia and Belarus they will exit the Moscow-controlled electricity grid". AP News. 2024-07-16. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
12. "Lithuania Bans Cars With Belarusian Plates". The Moscow Times. July 17, 2024.
13. "1 person dies as Latvia and Lithuania are hit by a powerful storm". The Moscow Times. July 29, 2024.
14. "Lithuania's elections: social democrats in the lead, eye forming coalition". LRT. 14 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
15. "Social Democrats win round 1 of Lithuania's election and aim to oust the conservative leader". Associated Press. 14 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
16. "Lithuania's centre left starts coalition talks after election win". France 24. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
17. "Lithuanian Social Democrats sign coalition agreement with controversial politician". lrt.lt. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
18. "Germany suspects sabotage behind severed undersea cables". BBC. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
19. Skėrytė, Jūratė (19 November 2024). "Lithuanian president nominates Paluckas for prime minister". lrt.lt.
20. Skėrytė, Jūratė (21 November 2024). "Gintautas Paluckas confirmed as Lithuania's prime minister". lrt.lt. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
21. "Cargo plane crashes in Vilnius, one person killed". LRT. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
22. "One dead and three injured in Lithuania plane crash". BBC. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
23. "Lithuania expels three staff members of Chinese mission". LRT. 29 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
24. "Lithuanian Politician Arrested, Suspected of Spying for Russia". The Moscow Times. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
25. "Lithuania's new government takes office amid controversy over antisemitism". Reuters. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
26. "Lithuania bans entry to Georgian PM Kobakhidze – FM". LRT. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
27. "Lithuania's top court declares anti-LGBT law unconstitutional". LRT. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
28. "Lithuania bans Russian, Belarusian, Chinese citizens from joining defence forces". LRT. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
29. Ties Būtingės terminalu į jūrą išsiliejo 300 litrų naftos
30. "Lithuania Public Holidays 2024". Public Holidays Global. Retrieved 27 November 2023.

External links

• "100 most important events in Lithuania in 2024". MadeinVilnius.lt. Baltic News Service. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
• Vileikytė, Goda (28 December 2024). "Experts: the most important economic event of 2024 - Teltonika's statement". MadeinVilnius.lt. Baltic News Service. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
• "Svarbiausi 2024-ųjų Lietuvos ekonomikos įvykiai". Alfa.lt (in Lithuanian). ELTA. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
• Online calendar