page_title: Augustinas Voldemaras
section_title: Early life and education
hierarchical_section_title: Augustinas Voldemaras / Early life and education
caption_attribution_description: English: Here Augustinas Voldemaras house, which is a Dysna village. Made of the same, clipped, because you could see a little finger.
context_page_description: Augustinas Voldemaras was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He briefly served as the country's first prime minister in 1918 and continued serving as the minister of foreign affairs until 1920, representing the fledgling Lithuanian state at the Versailles Peace Conference and the League of Nations. After some time in academia, Voldemaras returned to politics in 1926, when he was elected to the Third Seimas.
  Dissatisfied with the left-wing government of President Kazys Grinius, Voldemaras and fellow nationalist Antanas Smetona supported the military coup d'état in December 1926 and he was appointed as the prime minister for a second time. A brilliant orator, Voldemaras represented the radical wing of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union that was increasingly critical of the more moderate policies of President Smetona. Smetona had Voldemaras removed from office in September 1929 and exiled to Zarasai. Voldemaras was arrested in 1934 after a failed coup against Smetona and served a prison sentence until exiled to France in 1938.
context_section_description: Voldemaras was born on 16 April 1883 in Dysna village in what is now Ignalina district municipality, Lithuania (then part of the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire). Though born to a family of modest means and education, Augustinas excelled at his studies. He finished the public school in nearby Tverečius and graduated from a three-year school in Švenčionys. In 1890 he moved to Saint Petersburg to join his brother who had been working there. In 1902, Voldemaras passed the exams to enter a gymnasium, eventually graduating with distinction in 1904. While preparing for the exams in 1901, Voldemaras met Antanas Smetona who would become his close friend, political collaborator and, eventually, his political nemesis.
  In 1909, Voldemaras graduated in History and Philosophy at the Saint Petersburg Imperial University and, in 1910, received his Master's Degree and was awarded a gold medal for his dissertation. A scholarship fund was set up to enable him to further his studies, and eventually he achieved his PhD. After a period of studying in Italy and Sweden, Voldemaras returned to the university (now named Petrograd Imperial University) in 1915 and joined its staff. He moved to Perm to become a professor when the Imperial University opened its branch there (the branch would later become Perm State University). However, Voldemaras was not satisfied with the living conditions in Perm and planned his return to Lithuania.
caption: Augustinas Voldemaras's house in Dysna
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