Jonas Žemaitis
Jonas Žemaitis | |
|---|---|
Žemaitis in 1928 | |
| Acting President of Lithuania | |
As Chairman of the Presidium of the Council of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters Posthumously recognized on March 12, 2009 | |
| In office February 16, 1949 – November 26, 1954 | |
| Preceded by | Antanas Merkys (last head of state before the Soviet annexation in 1940) |
| Succeeded by | Adolfas Ramanauskas (Posthumously recognized in November 2018; then vice chairman of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 15, 1909 Palanga, Courland Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | November 26, 1954 (aged 45) Butyrka prison, Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Lithuania |
| Years of service | 1926–1941 (Lithuanian Army) 1944 (Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force) 1945–1953 (Lithuanian partisans) |
| Rank | Brigade General |
| Commands | Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters |
Jonas Žemaitis, also known under his nom de guerre Vytautas (March 15, 1909 – November 26, 1954) was a Lithuanian general and freedom fighter who served as the de facto president of Lithuania from 1949 until his death in 1954. A Lithuanian partisan, armed resister of Soviet occupation and the chairman of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters, Žemaitis was posthumously nominated and acknowledged as the head of state of Lithuania following the re-establishment of independence.