List of rulers of Lithuania
The state of Lithuania formed in the 1230s, when threatened by the Livonian Order in the north and the Teutonic Knights in the west, the Baltic tribes united under the leadership of Mindaugas. He became the only crowned king of Lithuania. His state became known as Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After Grand Duke Jogaila became also king of Poland in 1386, the two states became closer connected and since 1440 both were ruled by a common ruler. In 1569 Union of Lublin was signed and a new entity—the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth—emerged. The commonwealth was partitioned in 1795 and Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire till 16 February 1918. The Council of Lithuania was able to establish the sovereignty only in 1919, after Germany lost World War I. The first republic of Lithuania existed until 1940 when it was occupied by the Soviet Union. During the Soviet-German War, Lithuania was occupied by Nazi Germany. In 1944, as Germany was losing the war, Russia re-occupied Lithuania and established the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare independence. The restored Republic of Lithuania is a democratic republic, a member of both the European Union and NATO.
Jonas Aukštuolis
Lithuania declared independence in February 1918 and Sweden recognized Lithuania "de facto" on 12 January 1919. On the same day, Aukštuolis was appointed as the first Lithuanian representative to Sweden. In July 1919, he was also appointed as the representative to Norway. At the time, the primary task of Lithuanian diplomats was to obtain "de jure" recognition of Lithuania's independence and support for Lithuania's membership in the League of Nations. In February 1922, due to financial difficulties, the legation in Sweden was closed and Aukštuolis was recalled to Kaunas where we worked as the director of the Law and Administration Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.