Lithuania

The Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva; full - Lietuvos Respublika) is a republic in northeastern Europe. One of the three Baltic States along the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland to the south, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the southwest.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Lithuania

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Lithuanian head of state is the president, who is elected directly for a five-year term. The president functions as the commander-in-chief and oversees foreign and security policy. On the approval of the parliament, he appoints the prime minister and on the latter's nomination, appoints the rest of the cabinet, as well as a number of other top civil servants and the judges for all courts, including the Constitutional Court (Konstitucinis Teismas).

Related Topics:
Head of state - President - Prime minister - Cabinet - Constitution

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The unicameral Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has 141 members that are elected to four-year terms. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in single constituencies (71), and the other half (70) are elected in a nationwide vote by proportional representation. A party must receive at least 5% of the national vote to be represented in the Seimas.

Related Topics:
Unicameral - Parliament - Seimas - Legislative - Proportional representation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~