European Commissioner
What was the position of Dalia Grybauskaitė from May 2004 to Nov 2004?
Dalia Grybauskaitė Dalia Grybauskaitė ( ; born 1 March 1956 ) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the eighth President of Lithuania from 2009 until 2019 . She is the first woman to hold the position and became in 2014 the first President of Lithuania to be reelected for a second consecutive term . Grybauskaitė has served as Minister of Finance , as well as European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget from 2004 to 2009 . She is often referred to as the Iron Lady or the Steel Magnolia . Early years . Grybauskaitė was born on 1 March 1956 to a working-class family in Vilnius . Her mother , Vitalija Korsakaitė ( 1922–1989 ) , was born in the Biržai region and worked as a saleswoman . Her father , Polikarpas Grybauskas ( 1928–2008 ) , was an electrician and driver . He also was a NKVD serviceman during the Second World War . Grybauskaitė attended Salomėja Nėris High School . She has two brothers , one living in Lithuania , and the other living in Colorado Springs , in the United States . She has described herself as not among the best students , receiving mostly fours in a system where five was the highest grade . Her favourite subjects were history , geography and physics . Grybauskaitė began participating in sports at the age of eleven , and became a passionate basketball player . At the age of nineteen , she worked for a year at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society as a staff inspector . She then enrolled in Saint Petersburg State University , then known as Leningrad A.A . Zhdanov State University , as a student of political economy . At the same time , she began working in a local factory in Saint Petersburg . In 1983 , Grybauskaitė graduated with a citation and returned to Vilnius , taking a secretarial position at the Academy of Sciences . Work in the Academy was scarce and so she moved to the Vilnius Communist Party High School , where she lectured in political economics and global finance . From 1983 to December 1989 , she was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and after the Communist Party of Lithuania broke away from the CPSU in December 1989 , she was member of the CPL until June 1990 . In 1988 , she defended her PhD thesis at Moscow ( Academy of Social Sciences ) . In 1990 , soon after Lithuania reestablished its independence from the Soviet Union , Grybauskaitė continued her studies at the Edmund A . Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University , Washington D.C. , in the Special Programme for senior executives . Early career . Between 1991 and 1993 , Grybauskaitė worked as Director of the European Department at the Ministry of International Economic Relations of the Republic of Lithuania . During 1993 , she was employed in the Foreign Ministry as director of the Economic Relations Department , and represented Lithuania when it entered the European Union free trade agreements . She also chaired the Aid Coordination Committee ( Phare and the G24 ) . Soon afterwards , she was named Extraordinary Envoy and Plenipotentiary Minister at the Lithuanian Mission to the EU . There , she worked as the deputy chief negotiator for the EU Europe Agreement and as a representative of the National Aid Co-ordination in Brussels . In 1996 , Grybauskaitė was appointed Plenipotentiary Minister in the United States Lithuanian embassy . She held this position until 1999 , when she was appointed deputy Minister of Finance . As part of this role , she led Lithuanian negotiations with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund . In 2000 , Grybauskaitė became Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs , going on in 2001 to become Minister of Finance in the Algirdas Brazauskas government . Lithuania joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 , and Grybauskaitė was named a European Commissioner on the same day . European Commission . Grybauskaitė initially served as European Commissioner for Education , Culture , Multilingualism and Youth . She held this position until 11 November 2004 , when she was named European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget within the José Manuel Barroso-led Commission . In November 2005 , Grybauskaitė was named Commissioner of the Year in the European Voice Europeans of the Year poll . She was nominated for her unrelenting efforts to shift EU spending towards areas that would enhance competitiveness such as research and development . She commented : As Financial and Budget Commissioner , she strongly criticized the EU budget , stating it was ...not a budget for the 21st century . The majority of the EU budget was spent on agricultural programmes . Grybauskaitė presented a 2008 EU budget in which , for the first time in its history , spending on growth and employment constituted the highest share of the budget , exceeding that of agriculture and natural resources . She frequently criticised the Lithuanian Government , headed by Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas , for its lack of response to the approaching financial crisis . 2009 presidential election . On 26 February 2009 , Grybauskaitė officially announced her candidacy for the 2009 presidential election . In her declaration speech , she said : There were three women and four men as presidential candidates . Opinion polls taken in February 2009 showed that Grybauskaitė was the undisputed leader in the race . She ran as an independent , although she was supported by the dominant Conservative Party as well as by NGOs , including Sąjūdis . Her campaign was primarily focused on domestic issues . After years of strong economic growth , Lithuania faced a deep recession , with double-digit declines in economic indicators . The unemployment rate rose to 15.5% in March 2009 , and a January street protest against the governments response to the recession turned violent . During the campaign , Grybauskaitė stressed the need to combat the financial troubles by protecting those with the lowest incomes , simplifying the Lithuanian bureaucratic apparatus , and reviewing the governments investment programme . She also promised a more balanced approach in conducting foreign policy , the primary constitutional role of the Lithuanian presidency . The election was held on 17 May 2009 . Grybauskaitė won in a landslide , receiving 69.1% of the valid vote . The 51.6% turnout was just above the threshold needed to avoid a runoff election . In winning the election , Grybauskaitė became not only the first female president of Lithuania , but won by the largest margin recorded for a free election in Lithuania . Political analysts attributed the easy victory to Grybauskaitės financial competence and her ability to avoid domestic scandals . The international press was quick to dub her the Lithuanian Iron Lady for her outspoken speech and her black belt in karate . Grybauskaitė , who speaks Lithuanian , English , Russian , French and Polish , has mentioned Margaret Thatcher and Mahatma Gandhi as her political role models . Presidency ( 2009–2019 ) . Grybauskaitė assumed presidential duties on 12 July 2009 , and accepted half of her presidential salary ( 312,000 litas ) . Her first presidential visits abroad were made to Sweden and Latvia ; in April 2011 , she made a state visit to Norway . Grybauskaitė supported the NATO-led military intervention in Libya . On 19 December 2013 , Grybauskaitė decided to boycott the Sochi Winter Olympics together with other Western leaders , including German president Joachim Gauck , French president François Hollande , and the US president Barack Obama , due to Russias human rights violations , attitudes and behaviour with Eastern partners and Lithuania . In 2014 , Grybauskaitė was reelected President . She received 46% of the vote in the first round , and defeated Zigmantas Balčytis of the Social Democratic Party in the run-off with 58% of the vote . Foreign policy . Relations with Russia . At the beginning of her first term , Grybauskaitė tried to reset relations with Russia and check whether pragmatic relations with Russia were possible . In 2010 , Grybauskaitė even met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Helsinki . However , after this meeting , relations between Lithuania and Russia began to cool down . Relations with Russia markedly deteriorated during the second Grybauskaitės term in office , due in part to her hard line stance against Russian influence in Europe and the Baltics , especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine . In May 2014 , Grybauskaitė called the dependence on Russian gas an existential threat to Lithuania . Following her reelection in May 2014 , she said Dignity , self-respect and mutual benefit , these are the principles that should set the basis for relations between countries and no doubt , knowing that this is our neighbor , we wish this country to democratize and cope with the arising economic challenges . In June 2014 , Grybauskaitė told the German news magazine Focus : [ Putin ] uses nationality as a pretext to conquer territory with military means . Thats exactly what Stalin and Hitler did . She also claimed that Russia and Putin were characterised by aggressiveness , violence , and a willingness to overstep boundaries . On 20 November 2014 , Grybauskaitė , commenting on the conflict in Ukraine , characterized Russia as a terrorist state which carries out an open aggression against its neighbors . In June 2018 , Grybauskaitė said that Lithuania should be ready for Russian invasion . She also said that Western states will wake up only when they have been attacked by Russia . In December 2018 , Grybauskaitė told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that Lithuania would increase military assistance to Ukraine : We will additionally supply more ammunition , send more military instructors and cyber security experts to help repel hybrid attacks , especially during the elections . Relations with the EU and United States . In December 2014 , Grybauskaitė said that Lithuania will have to take the responsibility for the secret CIA-operated prison in Lithuania . Regarding British Prime Minister Theresa Mays comments on acting as a bridge between the European Union and the United States , Grybauskaitė said that I dont think there is a necessity for a bridge . We communicate with the Americans on Twitter . In March 2017 , Grybauskaitė criticized the government of Poland and Prime Minister Beata Szydło for not endorsing Donald Tusk again for the President of the European Council . Brexit . In January 2019 Grybauskaitė said a no-deal Brexit would be better than delaying Brexit . She said the EU would negotiate mini or sectoral arrangements to mitigate a no-deal scenario . Personal life . Grybauskaitė is unmarried and has no children . In addition to her native Lithuanian , she is fluent in English , Russian and Polish , and also speaks French . Grybauskaitė has a black belt in karate . Awards . Grybauskaitė has received the following national and international awards : Further reading . - Tomas Janeliūnas . 2020 . Foreign Policy Analysis of a Baltic State : Lithuania and Grybauskaitė Doctrine . Routledge . External links . - Official website of the President of the Republic of Lithuania - Lithuania set for energy rethink -interview with BBC . BBC World News - Lunch with the FT : Dalia Grybauskaite . Financial Times - Grybauskaitė run for the President ( video )