Simonas Kairys
Liberalų sąjūdžio frakcija
Oficialus Seimo profilis ↗Simonas Kairys yra lietuvių politikas, gimęs 1984 m. balandžio 19 d. Telšiuose. Jis yra aktyvus Liberalų sąjūdžio narys, turintis ilgametę patirtį Kauno savivaldybėje bei Lietuvos Respublikos kultūros ministro pareigose. Nuo 2024 m. lapkričio yra Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo narys ir darbą tęsia keliuose Seimo komitetuose.
Tapatybė 5
Simonas Kairys was born on 19 April 1984 in Telšiai, Lithuania.
„Date of birth | 19 April 1984 Place of birth | Telšiai, Lithuania“
He is originally from the Samogitia region and has lived in Kaunas since finishing school.
„Kairys. Jis – žemaitis, bet nuo mokyklos baigimo gyvena Kaune.“
He married public relations specialist Deimantė Liubinaitė on 12 April 2018; later that year they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Amelija.
„Kauno vicemeras Simonas Kairys (33) Kauno Rotušėje šiandien, balandžio 12 dieną, meilę ir ištikimybę prisiekė savo išrinktajai, viešųjų ryšių specialistei Deimantei Liubinaitei (25). Sutuoktinių pora netrukus džiaugsis ir dar vienu, jų santykius įprasminančiu statusu – pirmą kartą taps tėvais. Beveik 3 metų dukra Amelija ir žmona Deimantė Kairienė (28 m.) prie tokio ritmo jau įprato.“
Kairys’s wife, Deimantė Kairienė (née Liubinaitė), works as a project manager at the real estate development firm UAB "Nuova Capital."
„Kultūros ministro Simono Kairio žmona Deimantė Kairienė – UAB „Nuova Capital“ projektų vadovė“
Išsilavinimas 2
In 2007, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Vytautas Magnus University (VDU).
„2007 | Bachelor’s in Political Science, Vytautas Magnus University“
In 2011, he obtained a Master’s degree in Law from Mykolas Romeris University.
„2011 | Master’s in Law, Mykolas Romeris University“
Karjera 5
From 2007 to 2011 he worked as a Project Manager at the Liberaliosios minties institutas (Institute of Liberal Thought).
„2007–2011 | Project Manager, public establishment Liberaliosios minties institutas“
He served as an assistant to the Deputy Mayor of Kaunas City Municipality from 2007 to 2011.
„2007–2011 | Assistant to Deputy Mayor, Kaunas City Municipality“
He worked as a Network Manager at the state-owned company AB Lietuvos paštas (Lithuanian Post) from 2011 to 2015.
„2011–2015 | Network Manager, public company AB Lietuvos paštas“
He was an advisor to the Mayor of Kaunas City in 2019–2020.
„2019–2020 | Advisor to Mayor, Kaunas City Municipal Council“
After the 2019 mayoral election, re-elected Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis invited Kairys to work as his advisor.
„Nepasisekė S.Kairiui ir mero rinkimuose – liko trečias, surinkęs 2,4 proc. balsų. Bet meru perrinktas Visvaldas Matijošaitis pasikvietė buvusį konkurentą dirbti savo patarėju.“
Politinės pareigos 10
He became a member of the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament) on 14 November 2024.
„Member of the Seimas from 11/14/2024“
Since 2006, he has been a member of the Liberals Movement (Liberalų sąjūdis) party.
„Since 2006 | Member, Liberals Movement“
He served as the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania from 2020 to 2024.
„2020–2024 | Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania“
He served as Deputy Mayor of Kaunas City Municipality from 2015 to 2019.
„2015–2019 | Deputy Mayor, Kaunas City Municipal Council“
He was a member of the Kaunas City Municipal Council from 2011 to 2015.
„2011–2015 | Member, Kaunas City Municipal Council“
Earlier, he was a member of the Liberal and Centre Union in 2005–2006, before joining Liberalų sąjūdis.
„2005–2006 | Member, Liberal and Centre Union“
He is one of the Deputy Chairpersons of the Liberal Movement party (a vice-chair to the party’s leader).
„Seimo narys, Pirmininkės pavaduotojas, Valdybos narys“
He is also a member of the Liberal Movement’s national Board (Valdyba).
„Pirmininkės pavaduotojas, Valdybos narys“
Kairys led the Liberal Movement’s Kaunas city branch and resigned as its chairman in 2019 after an unsuccessful election outcome.
„S.Kairys nutarė atsistatydinti ir iš LS Kauno skyriaus vadovo posto.“
He was put forward by party branches as a candidate for the Liberal Movement’s chairmanship in 2025, but in September 2025 he withdrew from the leadership race, citing the changing political situation and endorsing Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen’s continued leadership of the party.
„„...mūsų organizacija yra stabiliame kelyje, pasitraukiu iš partijos pirmininkų rinkimų ir juose palaikau Viktoriją Čmilytę-Nielsen, lyderę, Liberalų sąjūdį patikimai vairuojančią jau šešerius metus“, –... teigė jis“
Komitetai ir grupės 3
In the Seimas (2024–2028 term), he serves as a member of the Committee for the Future (since 19 November 2024).
„11/19/2024 | Committee for the Future, Member“
He is also a member of the Seimas Committee on Education and Science (appointed 19 November 2024).
„11/19/2024 | Committee on Education and Science, Member“
He serves on the Seimas Commission for Energy and Sustainable Development, starting 4 December 2024.
„12/04/2024 | Commission for Energy and Sustainable Development, Member“
Rinkimai 8
In the 2024 parliamentary elections, he was elected to the Seimas in the Centro–Žaliakalnio single-member constituency (No. 20) representing the Liberal Movement.
„Elected: Centro–Žaliakalnio (No: 20) in the electoral constituency“
He was the Liberal Movement’s official candidate for Mayor of Kaunas in the 2019 municipal elections.
„Kauno liberalų kandidatu į miesto merus išrinktas Liberalų sąjūdžio Kauno skyriaus pirmininkas, dabartinis vicemeras Simonas Kairys.“
In the 2019 Kaunas mayoral race, he finished third, receiving only about 2.4% of the vote.
„liko trečias, surinkęs 2,4 proc. balsų“
He led the Liberal Movement’s list in the 2019 Kaunas council elections, but the list did not win any council seats.
„pernai rinkimuose S.Kairio vedamas liberalų sąrašas negavo nė vieno mandato“
He ran for the Seimas in 2012 and 2016 without winning a seat (he was 32nd on the party list in 2012 and 12th in 2016).
„2012 m. buvo 32-as, 2016-aisiais – dvyliktas, o štai dabar – dešimtuke.“
In the October 2020 Seimas elections, Kairys had risen to a top-ten position on the Liberal Movement’s candidate list, though the party’s performance was not strong enough for him to secure a parliamentary seat that year.
„sąraše nuosekliai kyla aukštyn: 2012 m. buvo 32-as, 2016-aisiais – dvyliktas, o štai dabar – dešimtuke.“
In the 2024 parliamentary election, Kairys won a Seimas seat by defeating Homeland Union (TS-LKD) leader Gabrielius Landsbergis in the runoff for the Centro–Žaliakalnio single-member constituency.
„G. Landsbergį įveikęs kultūros ministras S. Kairys pridūrė, kad jo pergalė Kaune susijusi būtent su Kauno specifikos pajautimu.“
In the October 27, 2024 runoff, Kairys unseated TS-LKD leader Gabrielius Landsbergis in the Centro–Žaliakalnio constituency by a decisive margin – winning about 58.2% of the vote (9,054 votes) to Landsbergis’s 41.8% (6,510 votes).
„Simonas Kairys... 58.17% (Balsų: 9054)... Gabrielius Landsbergis... 41.83% (Balsų: 6510)“
Turtas ir pajamos 7
As of 2022, according to official declarations, Kairys and his wife had approximately €211,885 in total assets (up from about €176,685 in 2021), and their liabilities increased to around €94,239.
„Kultūros ministro Simono Kairio bei jo žmonos Deimantės Kairienės deklaruotas turtas per metus paaugo – 2021 m. VMI ataskaitoje nurodė turintys 176 685 eurų turto, o 2022 m. – 211 885 eurų turto ir piniginių lėšų. Per metus išaugo politiko įsiskolinimai – 2021 m. deklaruota 78 059 eurų, o 2022 m. 94 239 eurų.“
As Deputy Mayor of Kaunas (2015–2019), Kairys’s official monthly salary was on the order of €5,600 (gross), which is roughly about €3,300 after taxes (estimated).
„3 | Vicemeras | 2 | 5607 | 5678 (Kaunas city vice-mayor positions with monthly gross salaries in the ~€5.6k range)“
By the end of 2023, Kairys and his wife had about €206,000 in declared assets (including an apartment worth ~€147k, ~€8k in land, ~€24k in vehicles, and ~€5k in savings) against roughly €104,000 in liabilities. This was a slight decline from the previous year (end of 2022), when their assets were around €212k and debts ~€94k.
„Ministro šeima 2023 m. valdė 206 tūkst. eurų turto (iš kurių 147 tūkst. eurų sudarė butas) ir 104 tūkst. eurų skolų.... 2021 m.... turintys 176 685 eurų turto, o 2022 m. – 211 885 eurų turto... 2022 m. 94 239 eurų įsiskolinimų.“
According to public records, Kairys’s declared expenses while serving on the Kaunas City Council totaled over €35,000 (2012–2019), making him one of the higher spenders among later government ministers who had been Kaunas councilors.
„Kairio išlaidos Kauno taryboje siekė 35 tūkst. eurų, G. Skaistės – per 20 tūkst. eurų“
In 2015, Simonas Kairys took out a housing mortgage from SEB Bank, which is scheduled to be fully repaid by the year 2049.
„S.Kairys... 2015 m. iš SEB banko pasiėmęs būsto kreditą, kurį galutinai atiduos 2049-aisiais“
On 1 October 2020, Kairys (together with his spouse) took a loan from Swedbank to finance the construction of a house.
„Kartu su sutuoktine 2020 m. spalio 1 d. iš „Swedbank“ pasiėmė paskolą namo statybai“
On 22 August 2022, Kairys sold his Volkswagen Tiguan automobile to a company, and two days later (24 August 2022) he entered into a vehicle leasing agreement with Swedbank Leasing for another car.
„2022 m. rugpjūčio 22 d.... pardavė „Volkswagen Tiguan“, o po dviejų dienų pasiėmė lizingo paskolą iš „Swedbank lizingas““
Ryšiai ir organizacijos 2
He was an active member of the Kaunas Liberal Youth organization in his early political career.
„Buvo aktyvus Kauno liberalaus jaunimo narys“
Simonas Kairys is a member of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union (Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga).
„Visuomeninė veikla – Lietuvos šaulių sąjungos narys.“
Kontroversijos 2
In 2024, Russia’s authorities put Simonas Kairys (then Culture Minister) on a list of 25 Lithuanian officials wanted for “hostile actions” against Russia (such as removing Soviet monuments).
„ieškomi 25 Lietuvos pareigūnai, įskaitant S. Kairį,... pasisakiusius už sovietinių paminklų nugriovimą Lietuvoje.“
In May 2023, amid scrutiny of those Kaunas council expense payouts (some lacking receipts), Kairys said he could repay the money if needed but insisted the rules at the time did not require receipts and that his quarterly claims (around €300–€700) were relatively small and justified.
„„...tokia tvarka suponavo tokią situaciją, kad čekių nereikia... dabar atkapstyti dalykus tokius iš praeities tikrai nėra sudėtinga“, –... atsakė į klausimą, ar neketina pasekti finansų ministrės G. Skaistės pavyzdžiu ir grąžinti išlaidas, kurių negali pagrįsti. Finansų ministrė G. Skaistė... paskelbė Kauno savivaldybei atgal pervedusi beveik 14 000 Eur... S. Kairys teigė, kad jo patirtos išlaidos buvo sąlyginai nedidelės...“
Vieši pasisakymai 3
After being put on a Russian "wanted" list, Kairys quipped that he was glad his work dismantling Soviet-era remnants "did not go unnoticed."
„Džiaugiuosi, kad mano darbas demontuojant sovietizacijos likučius neliko nepastebėtas – komentavo S. Kairys.“
In November 2025, he urged reversing a proposed €24 million cut to the Culture Ministry budget and doubling support for independent media.
„parama kritiškai ir laisvai žiniasklaidai – dvigubai didinama, siūlo Seimo narys, buvęs kultūros ministras Simonas Kairys.“
In July 2025, Kairys suggested that Lithuania could eventually abolish national high school graduation exams altogether – but only after significantly elevating the prestige and responsibility of the teaching profession.
„Įsisenėjusias bendrojo ugdymo problemas iš esmės spręstų egzaminų atsisakymas. Vietoje visus varginančių egzaminų suteikime mokytojams tiek atsakomybės, kad...“
Apdovanojimai 1
In October 2023, while serving as Culture Minister, Simonas Kairys received a Ukrainian state honor – the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (5th Class).
„Vilniuje vykusioje... apdovanojimų ceremonijoje Lietuvos kultūros ministrui Simonui Kairiui įteiktas Ukrainos valstybinis apdovanojimas – Kunigaikščio Jaroslavo Išmintingojo 5-ojo laipsnio ordinas.“