Adamkus' personal history is a fascinating journey through the 20th century, with much of the trials and triumphs of the past seven decades experienced first-hand by the new president.
B A L T I C N E W S
Adamkus' personal history is a fascinating journey through the 20th century, with much of the trials and triumphs of the past seven decades experienced first-hand by the new president.
Originally from the Siauliai region in north-west Lithuania, Adamkus left Lithuania for Germany as an adolescent to complete high school and later a degree at the University of Munich's Faculty of Natural Science. He returned to Lithuania in the fall of 1944 to join the National Defence Force in its fight against the Red Army but was soon forced to leave as the situation deteriorated, returning to Munich to complete his studies. As a young man, he published and circulated an underground newspaper for the Lithuanian independence movement and competed in the 1948 Olympic Games of the Enslaved Nations, winning two gold and silver medals in track-and-field events. In 1949, he and his family left Eastern Europe for the United States.
Settling in Chicago, Adamkus graduated from the University of Illinois as a construction engineer. His environmental career finally began in the early 1970s when he joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its first year of existence. There he remained for nearly 30 years, ending up as Regional Administrator of the Fifth Region which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio.
Throughout his 27 year career at the EPA, Val, as he is known to colleagues, was recognised for many achievements, including his involvement in the Great Lakes Water Quality Board and the establishment of the first Environmental Planning Agreements between the EPA and 11 native Indian tribes in the State of Minnesota.
In the U.S., Adamkus developed a strong concern for the environment in the Baltic countries. He travelled frequently to Lithuania, assisting in the transfer of information and technology for environmental projects, lecturing at Universities and providing advice to the government's Environmental Protection Department. He received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from the University of Lithuania (1989), the Calumet College of St. Joseph (1991) and Northwestern University (1994) and various awards for environmental achievement, from the Gold Medal for Exceptional Service in 1978 to the Fitzhugh Green Award for outstanding contributions to international environmental protection in 1988. In 1985, Adamkus received the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award from U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and in 1997 he received the Distinguished Career Service Award from the EPA after nearly three decades of dedication.
Adamkus added politics to his curriculum vitae in 1993, when he managed the campaign of presidential candidate Stasys Lozoraitis in Lithuania. He later participated in the 1996 elections and was nominated to the Siauliai Municipal Council in 1997, after he had returned to Lithuania permanently upon retiring from the EPA in June 1997.
Adamkus is also Honorary President of the NGO Lithuanian Fund for Nature, an organisation he has been involved with since 1992 which specialised in biodiversity conservation and environmental education. "We believe that Adamkus will help raise the level of environmental protection in Lithuania," said Lithuanian Fund for Nature representative Zymankas Morkvenas.
"The President has much more experience and knowledge in working under the conditions of western-type democracy than Lithuanian political leaders. This may be his strength," said staff at the REC's local office in Vilnius. "The absence of Soviet historical burden is an advantage, for the President appears much cleaner than many politicians who cast shadows of a scandalous or corrupt past."
Official statements by the new President indicate that the environment is to remain his personal concern. The REC Local Office in Vilnius anticipates a stronger influence by the President on legislative issues concerning the environment and potential conflicts between the environment and development, and considers the Adamkus victory an "optimal outcome" for Lithuania's environment.
- Kelly Duffy
