Arvydas Pocius
Tėvynės sąjungos-Lietuvos krikščionių demokratų frakcija
Oficialus Seimo profilis ↗Arvydas Pocius yra Lietuvos politikas, buvęs Lietuvos kariuomenės generolas ir diplomatijos atstovas, nuo 2020 m. Seimo narys, TS-LKD frakcijos narys, aktyviai dalyvaujantis nacionalinio saugumo ir gynybos klausimuose.
Arvydas Pocius was born on 14 May 1957 in Klaipėda, Lithuania.
He holds the military rank of retired Lieutenant General of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Pocius is married and has two children.
He is fluent in English, Polish, Russian, and German in addition to Lithuanian.
His wife’s first name is Namida, and the couple’s two children are named Tadas and Akvilė.
Pocius earned a Master’s degree in Political Science from Vilnius University’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science in 2007.
He attended the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, completing a Strategic Studies course in 2004.
He completed the Command and General Staff Course at the Bundeswehr Command Academy in Hamburg, Germany, in 1997.
In 1979, he graduated from the Lithuanian State Institute of Physical Education (now Lithuanian Sports University).
He finished Secondary School No. 18 in Klaipėda (now Klaipėdos Baltijos gimnazija) in 1975.
After returning from diplomatic service, he worked as an assistant to a Member of the Seimas in 2019–2020.
From 2014 to 2019, Pocius served as Lithuania’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Romania (also accredited to Bulgaria).
He officially assumed the position of Ambassador to Romania on 1 October 2014.
He served as Lithuania’s Chief of Defence (Commander of the Armed Forces) from 2009 until 2014.
From 2007 to 2009, he served at NATO’s Allied Command Transformation as a Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff in the Joint Education and Training division.
He served as Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force from 2004 to 2007.
In 2002, he was appointed Commander of the Eastern Military District of the Lithuanian Armed Forces (a position he held until 2003).
From 1998 to 2002, Pocius served as Commander of the National Defence Volunteer Forces.
He was the Commander of the National Defence Volunteer Service from 1994 to 1998.
In 1994, he briefly served as Chief of Staff of the National Defence Volunteer Service.
He served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the National Defence Volunteer Service from 1991 to 1994.
Between 1987 and 1991, Pocius served as the chief coach of judo and self-defence wrestling in the Lithuanian SSR’s Physical Culture and Sports Committee.
From 1985 to 1987, he was a judo coach at the National Olympic Reserve School for youth in Kaunas district.
From 1979 to 1985, he worked as a freestyle wrestling coach at an integrated sports school in Kaunas District.
He is currently serving a second term as a Member of the Seimas, in the 2024–2028 legislature.
He is also a member of the Seimas cross-party “Group Against Mass Immigration” (established in December 2024) and the “Friends of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and Riflemen’s Union” group (established in March 2025).
As of December 2024, Pocius serves as the Deputy Chair of the Lithuanian Seimas’ Inter-Parliamentary Relations Group with Romania.
In late 2024 Pocius joined numerous parliamentary friendship groups, including those for relations with Ireland, Bulgaria, Israel, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany and the Nordic countries.
Since 2020, he has served as the chairman of the TS-LKD’s Klaipėda city division.
During 2020–2024, he was a member of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrat Political Group in the Seimas.
He was elected as a Member of the Seimas in the 2020 parliamentary elections, beginning his term on 13 November 2020.
Pocius became a member of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) in 2019.
In the 2024–2028 Seimas, he continues to serve as a member of the National Security and Defence Committee.
He served as Chairman of the Seimas National Security and Defence Committee from April 2024 until November 2024.
He has also served as a member of the Seimas Commission for Maritime Affairs since it was established in 2022.
He is a member of the Seimas Commission for Awarding the Aleksandras Stulginskis Star (since 2021).
From 2020 to 2024, he was a member of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defence (before becoming its chair).
After finishing third in the first round at Klaipėda’s Baltijos constituency in 2024 (with 2,536 votes, just 56 votes shy of second place), Pocius requested a recount. The constituency commission rejected his request, citing that the vote difference was greater than 50 and no irregularities were reported. The official results showed that Lina Šukytė-Korsakė (2,644 votes) and Vytautas Grubliauskas (2,592 votes) advanced to the runoff.
In the 2024 Seimas elections, Pocius ran in the Baltijos single-member constituency (Klaipėda) but finished third, securing 2,536 votes and failing to advance to the runoff.
In the 2024 elections, he ran in Klaipėda’s Baltijos single-member constituency (instead of Danė, which he represented in 2020). Pocius finished third in Baltijos (2,536 votes) and did not advance to the runoff, but secured a Seimas seat via the party list.
In the 2024 elections, he ran in Klaipėda’s Baltijos single-member constituency (instead of Danė, which he represented in 2020). Pocius finished third in Baltijos (2,536 votes) and did not advance to the runoff, but secured a Seimas seat via the party list.
In 2024, Pocius was re-elected to the Seimas via the Homeland Union’s national party list.
Although he lost in the constituency, Pocius returned to the Seimas in 2024 via the TS-LKD’s national list. The party won 17 mandates in the proportional representation vote with about 18% of the vote share, which was sufficient for him to obtain a list seat.
Although he lost in the constituency, Pocius returned to the Seimas in 2024 via the TS-LKD’s national list. The party won 17 mandates in the proportional representation vote with about 18% of the vote share, which was sufficient for him to obtain a list seat.
In the 2020 parliamentary elections, Pocius won Klaipėda’s Danė single-member constituency. He led the first round with 4,150 votes (27.4%) and went on to win the runoff with 6,225 votes (about 56.5%).
In 2020, Pocius was elected from Klaipėda’s Danė single-member constituency (No. 23) to the Seimas.
On the Homeland Union’s national list in 2020, Pocius ended up ranked 31st after voters’ preferential (reitingas) votes were counted. (He ultimately entered the Seimas via the Danė constituency win, making the list position inconsequential that year.)
On the Homeland Union’s national list in 2020, Pocius ended up ranked 31st after voters’ preferential (reitingas) votes were counted. (He ultimately entered the Seimas via the Danė constituency win, making the list position inconsequential that year.)
In the asset declaration filed for the 2024 elections, Pocius reported an annual income of €55,741 and total accumulated assets of €369,612.
His 2022 declaration shows he owned a residential house valued at €200,000, placing him among the top five MPs with the most valuable homes.
As a Member of the Seimas (since 2020), Pocius earns a parliamentary salary that recently increased to about €3,500–€3,800 net per month. (Before 2025 reforms, an ordinary Seimas member’s take-home pay was around €2,200 net.)
He has no known private business interests. His publicly declared wealth – about €300,000 in assets (as of 2020) and roughly €55,700 annual income (as of 2022) – derives from his military, diplomatic, and parliamentary salaries, with no corporate holdings reported.
As a candidate in the 2020 Seimas elections, Pocius publicly declared total assets of approximately €300,000 (family net worth).
Between 2019 and 2023, Pocius’s declared net worth increased from roughly €300,000 to €369,600, a gain of about €70,000 over four years. No significant private business income was identified during this period.
Pocius is a member of the Union of Volunteer Founders of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
He belongs to the Club of Generals of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
He is also a member of the Club of Lithuanian Ambassadors.
Pocius is part of a hunting society called “Miško broliai” (Forest Brothers).
In a 2015 interview, he asserted that Lithuania and its allies "shouldn’t be afraid" of Russia, dismissing the likelihood of a Ukraine-like scenario.
He was awarded the Order of the Cross of Vytis, one of Lithuania’s highest honors, in 2014.
In 2000, Arvydas Pocius received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of the Cross of Vytis.
He was also awarded the Medal of the Volunteer Founders of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in 1996.
For his role in January 1991, he received the Commemorative Medal of 13 January (awarded in 1992).
His foreign honors include the Grand Cross of the Order of Viesturs (Latvia) and the French Legion of Honour (Officer rank).
Pocius’s asset declarations are filed as family declarations, encompassing jointly owned property with his wife. His spouse (Namida) is not a public official or business figure, and no separate significant income sources of hers are noted in public records.
Pocius’s wife is named Namida (Namida Pocienė), and she is not a public figure nor involved in political or business activities.
He co-authored a book "Laisvės karžygiai II" ("Warriors of Freedom II"), which was published in 2020.
He is the author of a memoir titled "Nematomuose apkasuose" ("In Invisible Trenches"), published in 2017.
In 1980, he was also recognized as a USSR Master of Sport in judo, achieving a black belt rank.
In 1978, he earned the title of USSR Master of Sport in freestyle wrestling.
His hobbies include military history, reading, sports, hunting, and fishing.