Jūratė Zailskienė

By 2025, Zailskienė was divorced (her declarations no longer list a spouse’s assets).

Jūratė Zailskienė was born on 6 December 1965 in Utena.

She is married.

She is married to Rimvydas Zailskas, who heads the Education and Sports Division of the Prienai District Municipality Administration.

In 1994, she completed an internship at an international relations institute in Oslo, Norway.

She earned a degree in history from Vilnius University in 1989, qualifying as a historian and a teacher of history and social sciences.

She graduated from the 5th Secondary School in 1984 with a gold medal (academic distinction).

She was the director of the public institution "Su pliusu" from 2014 to 2024.

From 1997 to 2015, she worked as an editor at several publishers, including UAB "Vingis", "Pienių pieva", "Ekspress leidyba", and "Presa".

She worked as a history teacher at Birštonas Secondary School from 1989 to 1994 and at Nemajūnai Primary School from 1995 to 1996.

On 25 September 2025, she assumed office as the Minister of Social Security and Labour.

She has been a member of the Seimas (Parliament of Lithuania) since 14 November 2024.

She served as Vice-Mayor of Prienai District Municipality from 2023 to 2024.

She has served as deputy chair of LSDP’s Social Affairs and Labour Committee since 2022.

She has chaired the LSDP Transport Committee since 2020.

Since 2020, she has been a deputy chair of LSDP and a member of its board, presidium and council.

She was the director of the Prienai District Municipality Administration from 2019 to 2023.

She has served as Deputy Chair of the LSDP Prienai District branch since 2015.

She served as an adviser to the Mayor of Prienai District Municipality from 2015 to 2019.

She became a member of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP) in 2012.

She has been a member of the Seimas Human Rights Committee since 26 September 2025.

She was Deputy Chair of the Seimas Social Affairs and Labour Committee from 21 November 2024 to 25 September 2025.

In the run-off on 27 October 2024, she won the Dainava constituency, receiving 6,594 votes (52.78% of valid ballots) against Andrius Palionis’s 5,899 votes (47.22%).

In the first round of the 2024 Seimas elections (13 October 2024), she led the vote in Dainava constituency with 4,163 votes (26.63%), ahead of incumbent Andrius Palionis (3,619 votes, 23.15%).

In the 2024 parliamentary elections, she was elected in the Dainava single-member constituency (No. 67) as a candidate of the Social Democratic Party.

On the LSDP’s list for the 2024 Seimas elections, Zailskienė was ranked 13th.

In the 2020 parliamentary elections, she ran in the Dainava constituency and advanced to a run-off against Andrius Palionis, but did not win the seat.

As a government minister (from 2025), her compensation is higher than a regular MP’s – on the order of about €4,500 net monthly (estimated, given that the Seimas Speaker’s net pay is ~€5,300).

Since late 2024, as a Seimas member, she receives a parliamentarian’s salary – approximately €3,800 per month net (after taxes) under the new pay rules implemented in 2024.

According to her 2024 asset declaration, she owned a house valued at about €40,000, land worth €2,000, a vehicle worth €3,000, and had approximately €46,000 in savings.

As Vice-Mayor of Prienai District (2023–2024), her monthly salary can be estimated at roughly €2,500 gross (above the average municipal pay).

She and her husband jointly own most of their property – including a house valued around €160,000, about €3,000 worth of other structures, ~€10,000 in land, and a car worth ~€19,000 – while her personal assets include roughly €21,000 in savings and €3,400 in securities (her husband has about €20,000 in savings).

Her declared savings grew from about €9,000 in 2020 to roughly €46,000 in 2024, with the largest jump occurring between 2022 and 2024.

As Director of Prienai District Municipality Administration (2019–2023), she likely earned around €3,000 per month (gross), based on the average salary in that administration (~€2,347 gross).

Her asset declarations indicate that her financial situation has remained largely unchanged over time, with only minor increases in savings and property values.

She is a volunteer with the Lithuanian Red Cross Society.

She volunteers as a lecturer at the Third Age Universities in Prienai and Marijampolė.

In October 2025, opposition lawmakers summoned Zailskienė to explain her appointment of vice-minister Rita Grigalienė – who was under investigation in the 'checkbook' expenses scandal – and questioned whether Zailskienė’s proposal to soften penalties for such abuses (through Criminal Code amendments) was influenced by personal ties to Grigalienė.

In October 2025, she defended her vice-minister Rita Grigalienė, saying the corruption allegations against Grigalienė were unrelated to her current work, which she was performing well.

In September 2025, as the nominee for social security minister, she suggested that part of the "Sodra" social insurance reserve could be used more quickly to increase pensions.

As a minister-designate in early September 2025, she identified housing for young families – providing support for home purchases and expanding social housing – and ensuring quick access to long-term care services as key social policy priorities.

On 31 March 2025, she welcomed proposed reforms to the pension accumulation system – including ending automatic enrollment in the second-pillar scheme and allowing a one-time withdrawal of 25% of saved funds – calling it a long-awaited change.

In 1994, after winning a contest by the Open Lithuania Foundation, she compiled and published 'Istorijos kryžiažodžius' (History Crosswords) for students and teachers.

She has authored and co-authored history exercise books and books for children.