1. Valdas Adamkus was succeeded as president on 12 July 2009 by Dalia Grybauskaite.
28 Facts About Valdas Adamkus
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Valdas Adamkus is considered by some as being one of the best Lithuanian leaders in modern history.
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Valdas Adamkus was married to Alma Adamkiene, who was involved in charitable activities in Lithuania.
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Valdas Adamkus was born on 3 November 1926 into a Roman Catholic family in Kaunas.
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Valdas Adamkus was originally given the name "Voldemaras Adamkavicius" but had it changed to "Valdas Adamkus" in 1955.
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Valdas Adamkus's father was one of the first heads of the Lithuanian Air Force School in the Republic of Lithuania.
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Valdas Adamkus's uncle was Edvardas Adamkavicius, who was a general in the Lithuanian Armed Forces during the interwar period.
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Valdas Adamkus set the national record for running 100 meters.
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Valdas Adamkus attended the University of Munich in Germany before emigrating to the United States in 1949.
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Valdas Adamkus graduated as a civil engineer from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1961.
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Valdas Adamkus joined the United States Environmental Protection Agency at its inception in 1970, working in Cincinnati.
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In 1972, Valdas Adamkus visited Lithuania for the first time in almost thirty years.
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Valdas Adamkus was a member of the official delegation from the United States attending an environmental conference in Moscow.
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Valdas Adamkus served as regional administrator of the EPA for sixteen years, and retired in 1997, after twenty-nine years of service.
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EPA Region 5 presented him with the newly established "Valdas V Adamkus Sustained Commitment to the Environment Honor Award".
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Shortly after leaving the EPA, Valdas Adamkus moved back to Lithuania.
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Doubts arose whether Valdas Adamkus was eligible to run for the presidency due to having spent over half a century abroad, raising the possibility that he might not meet minimum residency requirements.
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Valdas Adamkus was elected as President of Lithuania in 1998, defeating Arturas Paulauskas in the runoff, serving from then until 2003, when he ran for re-election, but was unexpectedly defeated by Rolandas Paksas.
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Valdas Adamkus returned to politics after the presidential scandal of 2003 and 2004, when his former rival Paksas was impeached and removed from office.
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In 2003, Valdas Adamkus was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Construction of Knowledge Societies.
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President Valdas Adamkus expressed the view that the war's end, in Lithuania, marked the beginning of a fifty-year Soviet occupation and repression.
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Valdas Adamkus expressed support for these candidate members during the Community of Democratic Choice in 2005, at the Vilnius Conference 2006, and on several other occasions.
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Valdas Adamkus is an Honorary Member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
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Valdas Adamkus enjoyed a very high approval rating in Lithuania.
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Valdas Adamkus was recognized for the second time for his support of Lithuanian youth.
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President Valdas Adamkus was actively involved in government reorganizations in 2004 and 2006.
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On 3 January 2025, Valdas Adamkus was hospitalized at the Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos in Vilnius after experiencing a "worsening" cardiac condition.
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Valdas Adamkus holds honorary doctorates at universities in Lithuania, the United States, and other countries, including:.