page_title: Constitution of Lithuania
section_title: President
hierarchical_section_title: Constitution of Lithuania / Modern constitution / Contents / President
caption_attribution_description: Lithuanian Constitutional Court, Vilnius, Lithuania
context_page_description: The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania defines the legal foundation for all laws passed in the Republic of Lithuania. It was approved in a referendum on 25 October 1992.
context_section_description: The powers of the legislature are further checked by those of the President, who may veto legislation, both ordinary and constitutional, passed by the legislature. Laws are not promulgated without the signature of the President. A presidential veto can be overridden, but only by an absolute majority of the Seimas' membership. The President can also dissolve the Parliament if it refuses to approve the government's budget within sixty days or if it directly votes no confidence in the government. However, the next elected Parliament may retaliate by calling for an earlier presidential election.
  The President is directly elected by the people for a term of five years and a maximum of two consecutive terms. The president is not, strictly speaking, the sole chief of the executive branch or the chief administrator. The Lithuanians borrowed the French model of the presidency, then adapted it to their needs. Candidates must be at least forty years old. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must win more than half of the total votes cast, with 50 per cent of the electorate participating. If fewer than 50 percent of the electorate turns out, a candidate can win in the first round with a plurality if he or she wins at least one-third of the total vote. If the first round does not produce a president, a second round is held within two weeks between the two top candidates, in which a plurality is sufficient to win.
  The President is the head of state. The President also selects the Prime Minister and names the Cabinet on his or her advice (the Prime Minister and their Cabinet are subject to approval by the Seimas), approves ministerial candidates, and appoints the commander-in-chief of the armed forces — with legislative confirmation. The President resolves basic foreign policy issues and can confer military and diplomatic ranks, appoint diplomats without legislative approval, and issue decrees subject to the legislature's right to later overturn a decree by legislative action. Generally, the president has greater power in foreign policy than domestic policy.
  Finally, the President has considerable powers to influence the judicial branch. The President has the right to nominate (and the Seimas to approve the nomination of) three justices to the Constitutional Court and all justices to the Supreme Court. The president also appoints, with legislative approval, judges of the Court of Appeals. However, legislative confirmation is not required for the appointment or transfer of judges in local, district, and special courts.
caption: The Constitutional Court's palace
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