Raminta Popovienė

She was born on 5 May 1970 in the town of Zarasai, Lithuania.

Raminta Popovienė is a Lithuanian politician and a member of the Seimas, representing the Social Democratic Party’s parliamentary faction.

Raminta Popovienė is married and has one child – a daughter named Radvilė.

In 1994–1995, she earned a Master’s degree in Music Education from the Klaipėda Faculty of the Lithuanian Academy of Music.

From 1988 to 1994, she studied Music Education and Choir Conducting at the Lithuanian Academy of Music (Klaipėda Faculty), earning a diploma.

From 2020 to 2022, Popovienė was the Acting Director of the Kaunas District Tourism and Business Information Centre.

In 2011–2012, she was the Deputy Director of the Administration of Kaunas District Municipality.

She served as Director of the Kaunas District Social Services Centre from 2007 to 2011.

From 2000 to 2007, Popovienė was the Chief Specialist in the Department of Culture, Education and Sports at the Kaunas District Municipality Administration.

She worked as a teacher at Simonas Dachas Secondary School in Klaipėda (1995–1998) and at the Česlovas Sasnauskas Music School in Visaginas (1998–2000).

She returned to the Seimas in the 2024–2028 term and has been a Member of the Seimas since 14 November 2024.

On 12 December 2024, Popovienė assumed office as the Minister of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania.

She also temporarily carried out the duties of the Minister of Culture until a new Culture Minister was appointed (during late 2024).

From 2023 to 2024, she served as the Deputy Mayor of Kaunas District Municipality.

She serves as the first deputy chairperson of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party’s Kaunas District branch.

She is a deputy chairperson of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Women’s Union (LSDMS).

As a Seimas member, she initiated draft legislation to improve information accessibility for people with hearing impairments.

She put forward a legislative proposal to preserve Kaunas District as a distinct administrative unit, amid proposals to merge parts of the district into Kaunas city.

Raminta Popovienė became a member of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) in 2013.

Raminta Popovienė served as a Member of the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament) from 2012 until 2020, spanning the 2012–2016 and 2016–2020 terms.

As of 2024, Popovienė is a member of the Seimas Committee on Education and Science.

In the current (2024–2028) Seimas, Popovienė is a member of the Temporary Kaunas Region Parliamentary Group and the Women’s Parliamentary Group.

As of late 2024, she has also joined numerous inter-parliamentary relations groups, including those for cooperation with Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Greece, Japan, the Nordic countries, Switzerland, Turkey, and Germany.

In the Seimas term 2016–2020, Popovienė served as Deputy Chair of the Seimas Committee on Culture.

During 2016–2020, she was also a member of the Seimas Commission for the Affairs of People with Disabilities.

In the 2024 parliamentary elections, Popovienė ran in the Raudondvaris single-member constituency and won in the run-off election with 53.06% of the vote (having led the first round with 30.02% of the vote).

In the 2024 parliamentary elections, she won a seat in the Seimas from the Raudondvario single-member constituency (No. 65) as a candidate of the LSDP.

On the Social Democratic Party’s national candidate list in 2024, Popovienė was ranked as candidate number 27.

In the 2020 parliamentary elections, Popovienė again stood as an LSDP candidate (she was listed among the top ten candidates of the party), but the Social Democrats won insufficient seats for her to secure a mandate that term.

Although she did not win in a single-member district in 2016, Popovienė was re-elected to the Seimas through the Social Democratic Party’s list in the multi-member constituency.

Popovienė was first elected to the Seimas in 2012, and she was re-elected in 2016 for the subsequent parliamentary term.

In the 2012 Seimas elections, Popovienė won a seat in Parliament by capturing the Kauno–Kėdainių single-member constituency (Electoral District No. 65) in the run-off voting.

In 2011, Popovienė was elected to the Kaunas District Municipal Council, but she declined to assume the council seat (she did not take up the mandate).

As a member of the Seimas, Popovienė receives a parliamentary salary set by law. After the 2024 pay raise, a rank-and-file Seimas member earns roughly €4,000 “in hand” (net) per month (about €6,500 gross).

As a municipal employee and later a social services center director in the 2000s, her earnings were aligned with typical public-sector pay scales. In the mid-2000s, a chief specialist or similar public servant position paid on the order of 1,000 litai net per month (~€290).

During her early career as a school music teacher in the 1990s, Popovienė’s salary was very modest – only a few hundred Lithuanian litai per month (around $100). For context, by 2005 the average monthly wage in the public sector was about 1,012 LTL net (approximately €290).

Like all high-ranking public officials in Lithuania, Popovienė must file annual asset and income declarations. These public filings (submitted to the State Tax Inspectorate) list her owned assets, savings, and any significant liabilities, ensuring transparency in her financial situation.

In early 2024, she launched an Easter campaign to fulfill the wishes of 20 financially struggling families in Kaunas District, an initiative intended to become a tradition.

She initiated the Kaunas District Parents’ Club “Aug(in)ti gera,” which brings together parents and others concerned with children’s and youth health.

At Popovienė’s initiative, the Kaunas District Women Entrepreneurs Club was established on 13 December 2022 to foster women’s entrepreneurship and mentorship.

At her initiative, an annual art event called “Aš ir tu” (You and I) for children with disabilities has been organized for over a decade.

She is also a volunteer with the Aurelija Makūnienė Charity and Support Fund, reflecting her ongoing community engagement.

In mid-2025, she faced criticism after the ministry added extra points to national exam results; Popovienė refused to consider resignation, stating that the decision was not hers and that “in that situation we really saved a lot of youth.”

Upon taking the ministerial office in 2024, Popovienė emphasized establishing a fair education system that guarantees equal opportunities for all children regardless of their location or family income.