The economic expert and political novice Gitanas Nauseda won the presidential election in Lithuania. His rival, ex-Finance Minister Ingrida Simonyte, acknowledged her defeat yesterday in the run-off election. The independent and moderately valid center-right candidate Nauseda had gone into the race as a favorite.
Over the past decade, he has made a name for himself as an eloquent commentator on economic and financial issues, with usually modest views. For many citizens, therefore, he is familiar from television face.
Many years of activity in the banking sector
Most of his career, the 55-year-old spent in the private banking sector, most recently as adviser to the President of Lithuania’s largest bank. For the election he had been set up by any party and had positioned himself in the election campaign as a compromise candidate.
For his supporters, including former President Valdas Adamkus, Nauseda is an urgently needed new face with the intellectual ability and necessary demeanor to bring more harmony into politics. His critics see him as a hypocrite who is at the service of big companies.