Birutė Vėsaitė

Birutė Vėsaitė was born on 1951-08-19 in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Holds a Doctor of Technical Sciences degree (earned in 1983) after postgraduate studies at the Leningrad Textile and Light Industry Institute.

Studied at Vilnius University from 1975 to 1981, specializing in English language and literature.

Graduated from Kaunas Polytechnic Institute in 1974 as an engineer-technologist in chemical technology.

Beyond her formal degrees, Vėsaitė pursued professional internships in Sweden, France, Italy, Israel, and the United States.

From 2016 to 2024 she was employed as a Seimas member’s assistant at the Seimas Chancellery.

In 1995–1996, she worked as an employee of the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO).

Directed the Kaunas Women’s Employment and Information Center from 1994 to 2000.

Was a docent (associate professor) at the Lithuanian Veterinary Academy’s Chemistry Department from 1990 to 2000.

Served as an assistant in the Chemistry Department of the Lithuanian Veterinary Academy from 1984 to 1990.

Worked as a senior engineer at the Kaunas Artificial Fiber Factory from 1974 to 1984.

Since December 2024, Vėsaitė has been the head of Lithuania’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Vėsaitė rejoined the Seimas in the 2024–2028 term, taking her seat on 2024-11-14.

She served as Lithuania’s Minister of Economy from December 2012 to June 2013 in the Butkevičius government.

She served as an observer in the European Parliament from 2003 to 2004 and briefly as a Member of the European Parliament in 2004 after Lithuania’s EU accession.

She served as a Member of the Seimas from 2000 until 2016, spanning four consecutive parliamentary terms.

She served as a member of the Kaunas City Municipal Council from 1997 to 2000.

She has been a member of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP) since 1991.

Vėsaitė served as a Deputy Chair of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP).

In November 2024, she was appointed Deputy Chair of the Seimas Committee on Economics.

Vėsaitė was chairperson of the Seimas Constitution Commission from November 2014 until November 2016.

During the 2004–2008 term, she was the chairperson of the Seimas Committee on Economics.

She chaired the Seimas Commission for Business and Employment from April 2001 to December 2003.

Vėsaitė was not re-elected in the 2016 or 2020 parliamentary elections – she stood as an LSDP candidate but the party’s result and her list position (or single-district performance) were insufficient for a mandate. After an eight-year hiatus, she returned to the Seimas following LSDP’s victory in 2024, again entering via the party list.

Vėsaitė was not returned to the Seimas in the 2016 and 2020 elections, as LSDP’s electoral performance declined significantly in those years. (In 2012 LSDP had won 37 seats and led the government, whereas in 2016 it fell to a junior coalition partner role, and in 2020 it remained in opposition with a much smaller caucus.) Consequently, Vėsaitė lost her parliamentary seat for eight years until her re-election in 2024.

In the 2012 parliamentary elections, Vėsaitė was initially listed 6th on the Social Democratic Party’s candidate list. She received 18,925 preference votes, which placed her 7th in the final post-election ranking. LSDP’s nationwide list garnered 251,610 votes (15 mandates), ensuring Vėsaitė’s re-election via the multi-member constituency.

Throughout her first four terms in the Seimas (elected in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012), Vėsaitė secured her seat via the Social Democratic Party’s list in the nationwide multi-member constituency. She never won a single-member district race during those elections, instead entering parliament thanks to her party’s proportional vote performance.

In the 2000 parliamentary election, Vėsaitė was elected to the Seimas via the list of Algirdas Brazauskas’s Social Democratic Coalition.

As a Member of the Seimas, Vėsaitė’s base monthly salary was approximately €3,356 (gross) as of 2019. Committee chairs, faction leaders, and other parliamentary officers receive slightly higher salaries, but even the Speaker’s pay remained under €4,000 at that time.

According to asset declarations over the past decade, Vėsaitė’s personal wealth has been modest relative to many colleagues. She has not appeared among the top wealthiest MPs in public disclosures, nor have any unexplained spikes in her assets been reported. (For context, a prominent LSDP member Vilija Targamadzė declared about €413,000 in assets in 2020, highlighting that Vėsaitė’s wealth was considerably lower.)

During her tenure as Economy Minister (2012–2013), her monthly salary was roughly in the €2,500–€3,000 range (estimated), which was typical for Lithuanian ministers in the early 2010s.

Detailed figures from Vėsaitė’s asset declarations are not readily available in current public databases. The Chief Official Ethics Commission’s online system (PINREG), introduced after her earlier terms, contains only her latest declaration upon re-entering the Seimas (2024). Earlier asset declaration data (from her 2000–2016 service) are archived separately by the Tax Inspectorate and were published mainly as aggregate reports, in which Vėsaitė did not stand out for unusual wealth. No significant unexplained changes in her assets have ever been reported.

She chairs the informal Seimas parliamentary group on reproductive health, which was established in November 2024.

She is the Chair of the Lithuanian Union of Social Democratic Women.

She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Inter-European Parliamentary Forum.

She was a member of the organization Socialist International Women.

In April 2015, Vėsaitė caused outrage by posting on Facebook that mothers of premature babies were alcoholics, drug addicts, and smokers.

On 2013-05-29, President Dalia Grybauskaitė signed a decree dismissing Birutė Vėsaitė from the post of Economy Minister following the private flight scandal.

In May 2013, she and two aides traveled to a business forum in Astana, Kazakhstan on an 8-seat private jet chartered by the company "Arvi," sparking a public ethics scandal.

In 2013, as Economy Minister, she faced public ridicule after a TV interview in which she confused her ministry and made awkward statements (e.g., saying “as far as I know, IKEA is coming to Lithuania”).

In 2004, she was awarded the Cross of Commander of the Order for Merits to Lithuania.

She is married and has one child.

Her husband is Edmundas Miliutis, an electrical engineer working at the “Statybos idėjų centras,” and they have a son named Feliksas who works as a lawyer’s assistant.

She can communicate fluently in Russian, Polish, French, and English.

Her husband is Edmundas Miliutis, an electrical engineer working at the “Statybos idėjų centras,” and they have a son named Feliksas who works as a lawyer’s assistant.

Vėsaitė’s family is not known for significant wealth. Her husband Edmundas Miliutis made a career as an electrical engineer (formerly at the "Dirbtinis pluoštas" fiber factory, later at the "Statybos idėjų centras" institute), and their son Feliksas works as a junior lawyer. The family’s income comes from their professional employment, and there are no public reports of substantial assets or business interests tied to her relatives.