Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona married Sofija Chodakauskaite in 1904 and the couple had two daughters and one son.

In 1940, when Soviet troops occupied Lithuania upon the start of the Second World War, he sought resistance, but did not receive the cooperation of his government, forcing him into exile along with his family.

Making his way to the United States in 1941, after brief stays in Germany and Switzerland, he moved in with his son, Julius in Cleveland, Ohio.

Antanas Smetona was born on August 10, 1874, to Jonas Smetona and Julijona Kartanaite, in Užulėnis, Lithuania. She was one of the seven children born to the couple.

After completing primary schooling from his local district in 1893, he took a step towards becoming a Catholic priest by seeking admission to the Samogitian Diocesen Seminary. He was accepted, but circumstances forced him to change course and he took admission at Jelgava Gymnasium high school in Latvia. Here, he joined a secret student-run political organization, beginning his resistance to the Czarist influence in Lithuania.

In 1897, he entered Law School at the University of St. Petersburg and continued his political activities by joining the clandestine movement of the Lithuanian Student Organization. Soon he become chairman of this group and published and disseminated Lithuanian books. In the process twice he faced the threat of expulsion from the University and was also imprisoned for a short time.

After completing his graduation in 1902, Antanas Smetona got his first job at the Agricultural Bank in Vilnius. During this time he joined the Lithuanian Democratic Party and became deeply engaged with various nationalist Lithuanian groups.

As representative of the Lithuanian Democratic Party, he was elected to the presidium of the first national Lithuanian Assembly in 1905, simultaneously writing as a journalist to promote and expound his ideas of national liberalism. He was on the writing staff of ‘Vilniaus Zinios’ (The Vilnius News) and editor of ‘Lietuvos Ukininkas’ (The Lithuanian Farmer) during this period.

As his ideas began to take root and spread through publications, Antanas Smetona became recognized as a powerful figure with great national fervor. When appointed chairman of the ‘Central Committee of the Lithuanian Relief Society’ in 1916, he took this opportunity to present to the Germans a demand for an independent Lithuania.

Continuing to write and actively participate in the independence movement, he became Chairman of the Council of Lithuania.

On April 4, 1919, he was elected as the independent Lithuania’s first president. However, he lasted in the office for just one year.

A leading voice of nationalism in Lithuania, Antanas Smetona advocated his ideas on national unity through several publications, such as ‘Viltis’ (The Hope), a newspaper he created in 1907.

He supported and published Lithuanian books and literature through his membership in several educational and literary societies, notable among which are ‘Ausra’ (Dawn), ‘Rytas’ (The Morning), and Lithuanian Mutual Aid Society.

His statesmanship qualities were respected even during times of political differences with the government between 1920 and 1926, and he was appointed to negotiate the border dispute with Latvia.