List of honorary citizens of Vilnius

The honorary citizenship of the city of Vilnius, Lithuania has been awarded to 22 people since Lithuania regained independence in 1990.

Honorary citizens of Vilnius

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# Date awarded Name Occupation Awarded for[1]
1 27 February 1996 Ronald Reagan
(1911–2004) 		Former President of the United States For his contribution to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and his support of the independence of the Baltic states. For example, he proclaimed the Baltic Freedom Day in 1982.
2 27 February 1996 Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson
(1939–) 		Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland For his support of the independence of the Baltic states. Iceland became the first country to recognize Lithuania's independence on 12 February 1991.
3 11 February 2000 Kazimieras Vasiliauskas
(1922–2001) 		Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest, monsignor For moral authority and guidance to Lithuanian Catholics. He was the first parson of Vilnius Cathedral when it was returned to the congregation in 1989.
4 26 July 2000 Mstislav Rostropovich
(1927–2007) 		Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor For his support of the independence of Lithuania. He toured Spain with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra right after the January Events in Vilnius and promoted the cause of Lithuania's independence in the Spanish press.[2]
5 14 March 2001 Dennis Hastert
(1942–) 		Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives For his support of Lithuania's membership in NATO
6 25 July 2001 Czesław Miłosz
(1911–2004) 		Polish-American poet, winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature[3] For his support of the independence of Lithuania. He co-published short piece Poets for Lithuania in The New York Times on 15 January 1991.
7 20 November 2002 Justinas Marcinkevičius
(1930–2011) 		Lithuanian poet and playwright For his literary works
8 15 October 2003 Zbigniew Brzezinski
(1928–2017) 		Former United States National Security Advisor For his support of the independence of Lithuania and membership in NATO
9 26 April 2006 Jonas Kubilius
(1921–2011) 		Professor, former rector of Vilnius University For his scientific work and leadership of the university for almost 33 years
10 6 June 2012 Algirdas Kaušpėdas
(1953–) 		Lithuanian architect, founder of rock band Antis For his work towards the independence of Lithuania
11 3 April 2013 Tomas Venclova
(1937–) 		Lithuanian poet[4] For publication of three books about Vilnius (a guide book in 2001, a biographical dictionary of famous Vilnians in 2006, and a history book through personal experiences in 2011)
12 8 July 2013 Shimon Peres
(1923–2016) 		Former President of Israel and winner of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize.[5] For his efforts in fostering the Israel–Lithuania relations
13 21 April 2015 Algirdas Brazauskas
(1932–2010) 		Former President and Prime Minister of Lithuania[6] For the reconstruction of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania
14 3 February 2016 Algimantas Nasvytis
(1928–2018) 		Lithuanian architect.[7] For his architectural work in the city
15 28 April 2017 Samuel Bak
(1933–) 		American painter[8] For his artistic works. He gifted 125 paintings to Vilnius, where he lived until the end of World War II
16 30 August 2018 George W. Bush
(1946–) 		Former President of the United States[9] For his visit to Vilnius on 22 November 2002 right after the 2002 Prague summit and his support for the enlargement of NATO
17–18 9 January 2019 Viktoras Butkus (1954–) and Danguolė Butkienė Chemist, founder of the biotechnology company Fermentas For founding the MO Museum
19 22 January 2020 Julius Sasnauskas
(1959–) 		Roman Catholic priest, anti-Soviet dissident For his books and articles about Vilnius
20 17 February 2021 Vytautas Landsbergis
(1932–) 		Lithuanian politician, leader of pro-independence Sąjūdis For his work towards the independence of Lithuania
21 2 February 2022 Valdas Adamkus
(1926–) 		Former President of Lithuania For his impact on integration into the European Union and NATO
22 22 February 2023 Kristina Sabaliauskaitė
(1974–) 		Lithuanian author[10] For her literary works about 16th-18th century Vilnius

References

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  1. ^ "Vilniaus miesto garbės piliečiai" (in Lithuanian). Vilnius City Municipality. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Mstislavas Rostropovičius" (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  3. ^ Cizauskas, Albert (15 September 2001). "Profiles: a Noble Prize Winner's Views on Lithuania". Draugas. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  4. ^ Delfi.pl (3 April 2013). "Venclova became a honorary citizen of Vilnius". Translated by Kaczmarek, Justyna. European Foundation of Human Rights. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  5. ^ Baltic News Service (8 July 2013). "Vilnius municipality to consider honorary citizenship for Israel's president". 15min.lt. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  6. ^ Baltic News Service (16 April 2015). "Lithuania's late president Brazauskas named honorary citizen of Vilnius". The Lithuania Tribune. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  7. ^ Baltic News Service (3 February 2016). "Architect Nasvytis named honorary citizen of Vilnius". The Lithuania Tribune. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Vilnius City Council Names Samuel Bak Honorary Citizen". Lithuanian Jewish Community. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  9. ^ Schlee, Maxime (30 August 2018). "George W. Bush named honorary citizen of Vilnius". Politico. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Vilnius Awards Honorary Citizen Title to Internationally Renowned Author Kristina Sabaliauskaitė". Go Vilnius. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
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