Valdas Adamkus

President Adamkus meeting with Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney in Lithuania. The meeting took place during the Vilnius Conference 2006: Common Visions for Common Neighborhoods. Adamkus shaking hands with George W. Bush in the Presidential Palace in Vilnius. In the background is a copy of a famous sculpture by Juozas Zikaras, the Statue of Liberty. Mikheil Saakashvili, Lech Kaczyński and Valdas Adamkus in Tbilisi, November 2007 Valdas Adamkus ( Lithuanian: [ˈvɐ̂ˑɫdɐs ɐˈdɐmˑkʊs] ; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian politician, diplomat and civil engineer and an American civil servant. He served as the fifth and seventh president of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.

Adamkus' first tenure as president lasted for five years, from 26 February 1998 to 26 February 2003, following his defeat by Rolandas Paksas in the 2003 presidential election. Paksas was later impeached and removed from office by a parliamentary vote on 6 April 2004. Soon afterwards, when a new election was announced, Adamkus again ran for president and was re-elected. His approval ratings increased during this period and he became a highly regarded moral authority in the state. He was succeeded as president on 12 July 2009 by Dalia Grybauskaitė. He is considered by some as being one of the best Lithuanian leaders in modern history.