Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 26, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
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Lithuania's parliament approves Inga Ruginiene to form a new cabinet, bringing her closer to becoming Prime Minister. She continues support for Ukraine and defense spending commitments.
VILNIUS (Reuters) -Lithuania's parliament on Tuesday voted in favour of letting Social Affairs Minister Inga Ruginiene seek to form a new cabinet, bringing her a step closer to leading the government.
Ruginiene of the ruling Social Democrats party must still get the president to approve her cabinet, and will face a second vote by parliament in September to confirm its manifesto.
The 44-year-old former trade union leader joined the cabinet only in 2024 and has been thrust into the limelight following the sudden resignation last month of Gintautas Paluckas over his business ties to a company owned by his sister-in-law.
Ruginiene has said she will continue Lithuania's support for Ukraine, and Paluckas' government pledge to spend 5-6% of gross domestic product on defence over the next several years.
Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius is currently the acting prime minister until a new cabinet is sworn in.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, editing by Terje Solsvik)
Inga Ruginiene is the Social Affairs Minister of Lithuania and is seeking to form a new cabinet after the resignation of Gintautas Paluckas.
Ruginiene must obtain approval from the president and face a second parliamentary vote in September to confirm her cabinet's manifesto.
Ruginiene has committed to continuing Lithuania's support for Ukraine and maintaining a defense spending pledge of 5-6% of GDP over the coming years.
Rimantas Sadzius is currently serving as the acting prime minister until a new cabinet is sworn in.
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