Juozas Vailokaitis

Juozas Vailokaitis (17 December 1880 – 2 August 1953) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest, member of the Seimas, banker, and industrialist. He as his brother Jonas Vailokaitis (1886–1944) were widely regarded as the richest men in interwar Lithuania.

Educated at the Sejny Priest Seminary and the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy, Vailokaitis was ordained priest in 1905. He was then assigned as editor-in-chief of the Lithuanian-language Catholic weekly newspaper Šaltinis which became the most popular Lithuanian periodical of the time (its circulation reached 15,000 copies). He was also active in Lithuanian cultural and economic life. Together with his brother Jonas, he was active in the agricultural cooperative Žagrė and cofounded the Company of Brothers Vailokaitis which provided loans to Lithuanians who wanted to buy land.

During World War I, he retreated to Russia where he organized the People's Union and published its weekly newspaper Vadas. He joined the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party and became politically active. In 1919, he cofounded the Farmers' Association. Vailokaitis was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania in April 1920. He was chairman of the parliamentary committees on economy and frequently spoke during the parliamentary sessions on economic and financial matters. In May–July 1920, he participated in the negotiations in Moscow that led to the Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty and was its signatory. Vailokaitis was reelected to the First and Second Seimas, but became less active and withdrew from politics in 1926.

Vailokaitis and his brother Jonas owned 98% of Ūkio bankas which became the largest commercial bank in interwar Lithuania. Using profits from the bank, Vailokaitis brothers established or bought several industrial enterprises, most successful of which were Palemonas (brickyard) and Metalas (metal factory), allowing them to accumulate substantial wealth. After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940, Vailokaitis' businesses were nationalized and Vailokaitis was arrested and deported during the June deportation in 1941. He was allowed to return to Lithuania in 1944 as NKVD hoped to recruit him as an informant. However, he was reluctant cooperate and stopped providing information altogether around 1946. He was assigned as a dean to a small parish in Paštuva near Vilkija where he died in 1953.