Good morning, Mr. President!

There is no head of state in the world, other than former President Adamkus, who has been running 100 meters in 10.8 seconds... This reveals the newly released 400 page sports biography that has been prepared by sports journalist Maryte Marcinkevičiūtė. It is early morning in May 2012. I am here to interview His Excellency, President Valdas Adamkus.
Photo: Aage Myhre.

President Valdas Adamkus interviewed by Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

Former President Valdas Adamkus welcomes me in his office in the rear wing of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius Old Town this early May morning. We are approaching the end of our series on the relationship between the Lithuanian-American community and the home country, and I have come here to the ex-president's office to learn more about how he, as the world's most famous Lithuanian-American, looks at this relationship. I would also like to hear more about his own history in Lithuania before and during World War II, about his years in Chicago and about his time as a politician and President of Lithuania for most of the years of 1998-2009.

I must admit that I sometimes felt Adamkus was too weak in his job as president. I often wished that he more pronouncedly had called the country's nomenclature to account for their transgressions against the nation's population, and I felt much more should have be done to fight corruption, injustice, intolerance, neglect of society's weaker groups, violence, crime and other misdeeds that Lithuania is still so tragically suffering under.

But after sitting with him for nearly two hours this morning, it slowly dawned on me how impossible it must have been to change attitudes and deeds in a country that to such a high degree had been brainwashed and subjected to almost unbelievable abuses over the years under Soviet tyranny. My respect and understanding of President Adamkus grew significantly during this interview.

Bring Smetona’s remains home to Lithuania!

I start my presidential interview talking about the relationship between the enormous group of Lithuanian-Americans, more than a million people, and their home country here on the Baltic Sea.

President Adamkus was born in this country in 1926 but fled to the West towards the end of World War II and came to America in 1949. During the war he contributed actively to the fight against the Nazi occupiers, and in the United States he committed himself correspondingly as strong in the fight against the Soviet occupiers, until the liberation of Lithuania

finally came in 1990-91, when he could return to continue his efforts for a strong, democratic home country on its own soil.

Two of the interwar presidents also fled to the United States during the WWII, Kazys Grinius (1866-1950) and Antanas Smetona (1873-1944). Adamkus was himself spending much time with Grinius in the months before he departed this life in Chicago in 1950, and was probably the one who took the very last photo of the president who led Lithuania over a relatively short period in 1926 until he was deposed by a coup d'état in December that year, on his own birthday. After Grinius' death Adamkus took an active role in giving him a dignified burial in the United States, and was also active when the ex-president's remains were sent to his homeland after the liberation of Lithuania in 1990-91. Grinius now lies buried in an honourable grave in his hometown Selema, near Marijampolė.

Kazys Grinius (1866-1950)

The pre-war's strong man, President Antanas Smetona, who became president by a military coup in 1926 and stayed in power until the first Soviet occupation of Lithuania, in 1940 also fled to USA. In June of 1940, Smetona had proposed armed resistance against the Soviets, but the majority of the government and the commanders of the army did not concur with this proposal, and Smetona turned over the duties of President to Prime Minister Antanas Merkys, and on 15 June he and his family fled to Germany, and then on to Switzerland without surrendering his powers. In 1941, Smetona emigrated to the United States, and lived in Pittsburgh and Chicago before settling in Cleveland, Ohio in May 1942 with his son Julius' family. Smetona died in a fire at his son's house in Cleveland, on January 9, 1944, and was buried there. In 1975, his remains were moved from Cleveland's Knollwood Cemetery mausoleum to All Souls Cemetery in Chardon, Ohio. We recently brought an article here in VilNews under the title 'No flowers for Smetona', written by our correspondent Frank Passic in Michigan, in which the author claims that the former president's grave is now largely forgotten and enjoys little attention. This gave rise to an intense debate among our Lithuanian-Americans readers, where Passic's allegation was strongly opposed by those who believed that the tomb has not been forgotten.

Antanas Smetona (1874-1944)

It was also raised questions about why Smetona's remains had not been sent home to Lithuania for a similar honourable funeral and burial as was the case for Grinius. The answer given was that Smetona's family did not want this.

“Lithuania still has a long way to go until it achieves the same level of independence and self-determination it had under Smetona. That’s why to repatriate the remains of President Smetona and Sofija Smetoniene will not happen soon if at all,” writes Andris Jonas Dunduras in a comment.

I asked President Adamkus if he had an opinion about this, and he replied simply: "Send the remains back to his home country: It is sad to see that Smetona's family seems to have ended up in an internal conflict instead of thinking about what an important man he was for Lithuania. There is absolutely no reason to doubt Lithuania's safe anchorage in freedom and democracy nowadays and therefore this is not a reason not to provide a dignified burial for Smetona in his beloved homeland."

Adamkus adds that there also are many who believe Smetona was an autocratic president who does not deserve to be honoured by his home country, something he strongly disagrees with. "We must remember that such was the political situation in much of Europe throughout the interwar period. Also our neighbouring countries were led by autocrats, and it is my clear opinion, in such a perspective, that Smetona was a very good president who deserves all possible recognition for his tremendous efforts as a statesman of the highest rank," he says.

Then comes a sudden sadness over the President's face. And now it's he who asks me; "You know, in spite of this with Smetona, who of our three presidents from the interwar period I think has got least honour and fame for his efforts and for his incredible sufferings after being deported to a gulag in Siberia?" I nod my head, because I know well the story of Akesandras Stulginskis (1885-1969) who was Lithuania's President in the years 1920-1926, and was taken prisoner by Stalin's henchmen in 1941 at his home in Lithuania and had to suffer through 17 incredibly difficult years in Siberia, first 12 years on the gulag tundra far north, later in a self-built log cabin in Siberia's deep forests. "And not only that," explains Adamkus, "when he finally did come home in 1958 there was a disillusioned and largely destroyed, communist-ruled Lithuania that met him. Until his death 11 years later, in 1969, he was constantly exposed to humiliation and even today there is little attention to this great man of honour. It is even difficult to find his modest, anonymous grave in the Kaunas cemetery where he is buried. When I look back at my time as President, this is something I regret, that I did not do more to honour President Stulginskis with a more dignified tomb."

Akesandras Stulginskis (1885-1969)

Almost caught by Gestapo

President Adamkus gives me more and more new details as the conversation continues. He shares with me episodes from his childhood and youth in Kaunas in the 1930s, and he talks about shocking events from the war years.

In 1944, he was just about arrested by the Gestapo for his anti-Nazi underground work.

"I thank my friend Gabrielius Žemkalnis, brother of Vytautas Landsbergis, that I’m still alive. In the years of World War II, he and I joined the resistance movement for Lithuania's independence, together with Leo Grinius, by publishing and circulating the underground, anti-Nazi newspaper “Jaunime, budek!” (Youth, Be on Guard!) in Kaunas. One day, in 1944, I was suddenly visited by Žemkalnis' sister. She said her brother had been arrested by the Gestapo, but that he had managed to whisper my name to her as he was led out of the apartment. She immediately understood that it was something he and I had together that I had to be warned about. I was still only 17 years old, but realized that this could be extremely serious, so I ran to the woods and hid there for a long time. Žemkalnis himself was first imprisoned in

Kaunas, but was later transferred to German prisons where he sat until the war was over. He never betrayed us in spite of harsh interrogation methods, and his whisper to his sister probably saved my life."

President Adamkus meeting the man who probably saved his life in 1944, Gabrielius Žemkalnis. Regina Narusiene watching.

 

Sport was always important to me In July 1944 Adamkus fled to Germany with his parents. Here he graduated from the Lithuanian Gymnasium and studied at the Faculty of Natural Science at Munich University. In 1949, he came to the United States, where he was employed as a worker in a Chicago factory of car parts, later as a draughtsman in an engineering firm. In 1951, Valdas Adamkus married Alma Nutautaitė. In 1960, he graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology, with a degree in civil engineering. Both in Germany and in the United States young Adamkus was engaged in various activities. But strangely enough it was not politics that received his attention at first, but sports. He was an active participant and organizer of sports events and won, as an athlete, two gold and two silver medals in track-and-field events at the Olympic Games of the Enslaved Nations of 1948. In 1951, Valdas Adamkus established an academic sports club of Lithuanian Americans, Lituanica. He was chairman of the Organizing Committee of the World Lithuanian Games that were held in 1983. The President gets up from his chair opposite me, this early May morning. He goes out to the anteroom and retrieves a thick book, just published here in Lithuania. The book is about his many accomplishments in sports and organization of sports activities throughout life. He signs the book, gives it to me as a gift, and says: "It was through sport that my political career started, and, as you will see, sport has meant infinitely much to me throughout a long life."

There is no head of state in the world, other than Adamkus, who has been running 100 meters in 10.8 seconds... Says the 400 page sports biography that has been prepared by sports journalist Maryte Marcinkevičiūtė.

Meeting Nixon in the White House, September 1955

While a student, Adamkus, together with other Lithuanian Americans, collected about 40,000 signatures petitioning the United States Government to intervene in the ongoing deportations of Lithuanians to Siberia by the Soviets. The petition was presented to then-Vice President Richard Nixon late September 1955.

The petition was supposed to be delivered directly to President Dwight D. Eisenhower but during a visit to his in-laws in Denver the day before, President Eisenhower suffered a serious, though not ultimately debilitating, heart attack. As it turned out, he would survive the episode by more than 13 years, more than long enough to finish a second term in 1961.

Adamkus also raised concerns about other Soviet activities in occupied Lithuania to United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld in 1958 and to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

“"The reactions from Moscow were uncomfortably strong. No feeling of guilt or regret of the horrible atrocities they were committing against my little country and my people."

President Adamkus' face gets a look of deep sadness as he talks about how his beloved people was torn apart and subjected to atrocities one can hardly imagine today.

In September 1955 Valdas Adamkus (28) presented a petition to then-Vice President Richard Nixon, with
40,000 signatures of young Lithuanian-Americans petitioning the United States Government
to intervene in the ongoing deportations of Lithuanians to Siberia by the Soviets
(Adamkus and VP Nixon in centre)

1960-1990 in USA and Lithuania Valdas Adamkus was very active in public and political life of the Lithuanian expatriate community in the U.S. between 1958 and 1965, he was vice-chairman of the Santara-Šviesa (Accord-Light) Cultural-Political Federation, a liberal civic organization of the Lithuanian expatriate community, acting under the slogan "Face to Lithuania ", and, in 1967, he was elected its chairman. While living in the United States, he was an active organizer of protests against Lithuania's occupation. Between 1961 and 1964, he was a member of the Board of the American-Lithuanian Community (LC), vice-chairman of the Centre Board, member of the American-Lithuanian Council (ALC). Starting from 1972, Valdas Adamkus visited Lithuania several times, encouraging and supporting construction of water treatment facilities and development of environmental monitoring. He assisted environmental institutions of the Baltic States with academic literature, equipment and software supply. In the capacity of the coordinator of US aid to the Baltic States in the field of environmental protection, he organized study visits for representatives of Lithuania's academic institutions and helped Vilnius University to get hold of the latest academic literature.

 

Early 1990s – presidential campaign with Stasys Lozoraitis

"One of my best friends through all these years, was Stasys Lozoraitis. When it became weekend he often flew in from Washington to my home in Chicago. We had many long, good conversations, particularly about the situation in Lithuania,” tells Adamkus. Stasys Lozoraitis (1924 in Berlin – 1994 in Washington, D.C.) was a Lithuanian diplomat. He was a son of Stasys Lozoraitis (1898–1983) and brother of Kazys Lozoraitis. In September 1991, following the August Putsch in Moscow and international recognition of independent Lithuania, Lozoraitis resigned the diplomatic service in favour of the national government established in Vilnius. In December 1991, he was appointed as the new government's chief diplomat to the United States, where he re-established the embassy. He was a candidate in the Lithuanian presidential election of February 1993, gathering 38.9% of vote, losing to the former communist leader Algirdas Brazauskas.

In May 1993, just a few months after the election, Brazauskas recalled Lozoraitis as ambassador to the U.S. despite criticism of politicizing the issue. In late 1993, Lozoraitis was appointed as the ambassador to Italy.

Lozoraitis died of kidney failure at Georgetown University Hospital. He was buried in Putnam Cemetery in Connecticut and was reburied in Petrašiūnai Cemetery in Kaunas in 1999. The same year he was posthumously awarded the Order of the Cross of Vytis.

"I became campaign manager for my friend's presidential campaign on very short notice in 1993," chuckles President Adamkus. "He called me home one day while I still lived in the U.S. and said he needed my help. He had decided to pose as a candidate for the Lithuanian presidential election in February of that year, and had concluded that his Lithuanian team was not capable of running a campaign, thus, he needed my help as soon as possible. I decided quickly to request unpaid leave of absence from my job and travelled across the Atlantic to assist my friend. We realized that the chance to win at such short notice, was minimal, but we took a red marker and divided Lithuania into two, on the map.

Then we started to tour, he in one part, I in the other, to promote him as a presidential candidate, but even more to promote and explain what freedom and democracy could mean for the 'reborn' Lithuania. We won of course not, but I feel that we planted some important seeds that time almost 20 years ago."

Adamkus leans back in his chair, overwhelmed by memories, but shakes his head when I ask him if there might be something in the rumours that Lozoraities was poisoned and murdered in 1994...

President of Lithuania 1998-2003 and 2004-2009

"I've never really felt that I had the heartfelt support of Vytautas Landsbergis. He was usually lukewarm to my ideas and I saw him not as a genuine supporter neither when Lozoraitis and I worked together as hardest in 1993 or when I four years later started my campaign to become Lithuania's next president." His Excellency seems to struggle a bit to find the right words when I ask him about his relationship with Landsbergis. Searching for the right words to be honest without insulting, define without getting emotional. Nevertheless, in 1998, Valdas Adamkus was elected President of the Republic of Lithuania. He assumed the office on 26 February 1998. As President he very much promoted the idea of rapid modernization of Lithuania and worked consistently towards its implementation.

In 2002, he ran in the presidential elections for another term, in the second round however he lost to Rolandas Paksas. In 2004, following the removal of Rolandas Paksas from the Office of the President by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus again ran in the presidential elections.

On 27 June 2004, citizens of Lithuania re-elected Valdas Adamkus President of the Republic for another five-year term. During his second term, as President of the Republic, he committed himself to create European wellbeing in every Lithuanian home and guarantee that there should not be a single abandoned person in Lithuania.

Under his presidency, Lithuania actively promoted democracy in the former Soviet, Eastern European and Asian nations. President Adamkus, together with President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Javier Solana, Boris Gryzlov and Ján Kubiš, served as a mediator during Ukraine's political crisis, when two candidates in the 2004 presidential election, Viktor Yanukovych and Viktor Yushchenko, each claimed victory. President Adamkus recalled in an interview that "when I asked what we could do to help, Kuchma said the friends of the Ukrainian people should drop whatever they were doing and come to Kiev immediately." The next day international mediators met in Ukraine. The crisis was resolved after a new election was held.

"After I refused to take part in the Moscow ‘victory parade’ in 2005, I became, in the language of diplomats, "persona non grata" for Putin, explains Adamkus.

In 2005, Adamkus, refused to participate in the 9th May ‘Victory Day’ celebrations in Moscow. He expressed the view that the war's end, in Lithuania, marked the beginning of a fifty-year Soviet occupation and repression. In response, on 22 July 2005, the United States Congress unanimously passed a resolution that Russia should "issue a clear and unambiguous statement of admission and condemnation of the illegal occupation and annexation by the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1991 of the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania", but Russia refused. U.S. President George W. Bush went to participate in the Moscow event, but came first to Riga to meet President Adamkus and the two other Baltic presidents. “While the end of World War II brought peace, it also brought "occupation and communist oppression," Mr Bush said, apologizing to for the United States’ role in the Yalta Conference in early 1945, where the Baltic states more or less were given as hostages in a superpower play led by despot Josef Stalin.

"After I refused to take part in the Moscow parade, I became, in the language of diplomats, "persona non grata" for Putin. I was being ignored; he tried not to see me wherever we both came to participate in any international event,” tells the former leader of Lithuania with a wry smile, as he sits here in front of me this May morning.

President Adamkus supported an active dialogue between European Union member states and those former Soviet republics such as Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, that were actively seeking membership in the EU. He expressed support for these candidate members during the Community of Democratic Choice in 2005, at the Vilnius Conference 2006, and on several other occasions.

Adamkus chose not to run for re-election during the Lithuanian presidential election in 2009
and was succeeded on 12 July 2009 by Dalia Grybauskaitė.

Comments about other politicians

We have had a long, good conversation, President Adamkus and me. New visitors have already been long waiting in his anteroom. But before I go I need to know a bit more about how he looks at other leading politicians in today's Lithuania.

About late President and Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, he had this to say: "I've obviously heard all the stories about him being corrupt and that he represented the nomenclature which ruled Lithuania in the course of the occupation years. But I always had a normal partnership with him, none of the mentioned corruption cases reached some time my president’s office. He was a good farmer, a good building, a pragmatist who people liked. And even though we were far from each other politically, we always had a relationship that was characterized by mutual respect."

About Vilnius Mayor, Arturas Zuokas, he had this to say: "It is true that I was the godfather of his child, but it meant not that we had or have a very close relationship. Still, I must say that Mr. Zuokas has some extraordinary qualities and visions. I disagree with some of his actions and decisions, but I think he is a man of the future."

About the Prime Minister, Andrius Kubilius, he had this to say: "I sympathize strongly with PM Kubilius. He has had a" mission impossible" to fight with ever since he took office as head of a government that had to do everything possible to solve the enormous challenges we faced when the financial crisis hit our country so incredibly hard four years ago. Now there will be parliamentary elections in the autumn, and opinion polls suggest that what we are going to be facing is a coalition government without a majority for any party or group. We are still facing major problems, and I sincerely hope that people will understand this while voting and that it will be found solutions that provide continued strength and good development for our country."

About the present President, Dalia Grybauskaitė, he had this to say: "It would not be appropriate for me to sit here and criticize my successor. The only thing I will say is that I occasionally ask myself what has happened to Lithuania's foreign policy. I have, frankly, become more and more confused. I always emphasized that Lithuania’s way is to have closest possible relations with the West, and not wobble in this respect. What I have seen over the past three years, is that one day there seems to be one attitude, while the next day seems to follow a completely different direction. That worries me." "Has the current president asked for advice from you since she took office in July 2009?" "Aage, you see the black phone there on my desktop? That phone is connected to a direct line between the current and the former President of Lithuania. The phone has NOT RUNG ONCE during the three years that have passed since she took over the presidency..."

My time with President Adamkus has come to an end.

Biography

Valdas Adamkus was born into a family of civil servants in Kaunas on 3 November 1926. He studied at the Jonas Jablonskis Elementary School and the Aušra (Dawn) Gymnasium in Kaunas. During World War II, he was involved in the resistance movement for Lithuania 's independence. Valdas Adamkus fled to Germany with his parents in July 1944. After graduation from the Lithuanian Gymnasium  in Germany , Valdas Adamkus studied at the Faculty of Natural Science at Munich University. In 1949, Valdas Adamkus came to the United States , where he was employed as a worker in a Chicago factory of car parts, later, as a draughtsman in an engineering firm. In 1960, he graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology, with a degree in civil engineering. In 1951, Valdas Adamkus married Alma Nutautaitė.

Professional Career

In early 70's Valdas Adamkus was invited to work for a newly established US federal environmental institution, the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA). He headed the Environment Research Centre and was later appointed deputy administrator at the US EPA Region 5 (Midwest Region). In 1981, he was promoted to administrator of the Environment Protection Agency.

Face to Lithuania

Valdas Adamkus was active in public and political life of the Lithuanian expatriate community. Between 1958 and 1965, he was vice-chairman of the Santara-Šviesa (Accord-Light) Cultural-Political Federation, a liberal civic organization of the Lithuanian expatriate community, acting under the slogan "Face to Lithuania ", and, in 1967, he was elected its chairman.

While living in the United States , Valdas Adamkus was an active organizer of protests against Lithuania 's occupation and the initiator of numerous petitions. Between 1961 and 1964, Adamkus was a member of the Board of the American-Lithuanian Community (LC), vice-chairman of the Centre Board, member of the American-Lithuanian Council (ALC).

Valdas Adamkus was an active participant and organiser of sports events. He won two gold and two silver medals in track-and-field events at the Olympic Games of the Enslaved Nations of 1948. In 1951, Valdas Adamkus established an academic sports club of Lithuanian Americans, Lituanica. He was chairman of the Organizing Committee of the World Lithuanian Games that were held in 1983.

Since 1972, Valdas Adamkus had been visiting Lithuania once or several times a year. Encouraging and supporting construction of water treatment facilities and development of environmental monitoring, Valdas Adamkus assisted environmental institutions of the Baltic States with academic literature, equipment and software supply.

In the capacity of the coordinator of US aid to the Baltic States in the field of environmental protection, Valdas Adamkus organized study visits for representatives of Lithuania 's academic institutions and helped Vilnius University to get hold of the latest academic literature.

In 1993, Valdas Adamkus headed the election campaign of presidential candidate Stasys Lozoraitis in Lithuania .

Consolidating the moderate political centre, he was actively involved in the campaign of the 1996 Lithuanian general parliamentary elections.

President of the Republic

In 1998, Valdas Adamkus was elected President of the Republic of Lithuania. He assumed the office on February 26, 1998. President Adamkus promoted the idea of rapid modernisation of Lithuania and worked consistently towards its implementation.

In 2002, Valdas Adamkus ran in the presidential elections for another term, in the second round however he lost to Rolandas Paksas. Upon completion of his term in the office, Valdas Adamkus remained active in domestic and foreign politics and gave lectures at international conferences.

In 2004, following the removal of Rolandas Paksas from the Office of the President by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus again ran in the presidential elections.

On June 27, 2004, citizens of Lithuania re-elected Valdas Adamkus President of the Republic for another five-year term. During his second term, President of the Republic is committed to create European wellbeing in every Lithuanian home and to guarantee that there is not a single abandoned person in Lithuania .

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Construction of Knowledge Societies

In 2003, President Valdas Adamkus was conferred the title of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Construction of Knowledge Societies. This title is held only by 42 individuals in the whole world, therefore, this honour shown to President Valdas Adamkus can certainly be viewed as the award to all the people of Lithuania .

In the area of knowledge society, UNESCO is involved in internet promotion, establishment of community internet centres, library and archive modernisation, development of E-government, implementation of information technologies in educational, women’s and children’s teaching institutions and decision-making structures.

With its own Goodwill Ambassador, Lithuania has now become even more visible among UNESCO member states.

Awards

In 1988, Valdas Adamkus was granted the International Environmental Award for outstanding achievements in the international arena. He has also been awarded the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Gold Medal, the US President’s Award for Outstanding Service and the International Olympic Committee Award.

Valdas Adamkus was named the European of the Year 2007 at the European Voice Awards. In 2008, he was conferred the title of Academician of the Lithuanian Olympic Academy for many years of active involvement in the Olympic movement and the promotion of its ideals.

The President of Lithuania has been bestowed 33 highest-class state decorations of various countries, including the Golden Collar of the City of Athens, the Order of Iron Wolf of the Lithuanian Scouts Union, the Order of Star of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union and the International Olympic Committee Award for Sport and Promotion of Olympism.

• Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon, Iceland, 1998
• Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav, Norway, 1998
• Order of Yaroslav the Wise, 1st Class, Ukraine, 1998
• Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, Estonia, 1999
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer, Greece, 1999
• Collar and Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, 1999
• Order of the White Eagle, Poland, 1999
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, Malta, 1999
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, Hungary, 1999
• Grand Cross of the Order of Friendship, Kazakhstan, 2000
• Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Three Stars, Latvia, 2001
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour, France, 2001
• Collar of the Star of Romania, Romania, 2001
• St. Mesrob Mashtots Order, Armenia, 2002
• Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose with Collar, Finland, 2002
• Order “For Special Merits”, Uzbekistan, 2002
• Order of Vytautas the Great with the Golden Collar, Lithuania, 2003.
• Collar and Grand Cross of the Order of the White Star, Estonia, 2004
• Order of Isabella the Catholic with Collar, Kingdom of Spain, 2005
• Special Class of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, Germany, 2005
• Order of the White Double Cross, 1st Class, Slovakia, 2005
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold, Kingdom of Belgium, 2006
• Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, 2006
• The Most Honorable Order of the Bath, United Kingdom, 2006
• Order for Merit, 1st Class, Ukraine, 2006
• Order “Mother Theresa”, Albania, 2007
• Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, Japan, 2007
• Grand Collar of the Order of Infante D. Henrique, Portugal, 2007
• St. George’s Victory Order, Georgia, 2007
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, 2008
• Collar of the Order for Merits to Chile, Republic of Chile, 2008
• Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, Republic of Austria, 2009
• Order of Stara Planina, Republic of Bulgaria, 2009

Honorary Doctor

Valdas Adamkus is the Honorary Doctor of universities in Lithuania and other countries:

• Vilnius University, 1989,
• Indiana St. Joseph's College, USA, 1991,
• Northwestern University, USA, 1994,
• Kaunas Technological University, 1998,
• The Catholic University of America, USA, 1998,
• University of Agriculture of Lithuania , 1999,
• Illinois Institute of Technology, USA, 1999,
• Eurasian University, Kazakhstan, 2000,
• De Paul University in Chicago, USA , 2001,
• Law University of Lithuania , 2001,
• Vytautas Magnus University, 2002,
• Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education, 2004,
• Yerevan State University, Armenia, 2006,
• Baku State University, Azerbaijan, 2006,
• Notre Dame University, USA, 2007,
• Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland, 2007,
• Tallinn University, Estonia, 2008,
• University of Chile, Chile, 2008.