Dalia Grybauskaitė served as President of Lithuania from 2009 to 2019, becoming the country’s first female president and the only one in Lithuania’s post-Soviet history to serve two consecutive terms. Her presidency focused on economic recovery after the 2008– 2009 global financial crisis, strengthening national security, and supporting NATO’s enhanced forward presence in Lithuania. Prior to her presidency, she held key governmental and diplomatic roles, including Finance Minister (2001–2004), Minister Plenipotentiary in Lithuania’s Missions to the EU and the United States, and Deputy Chief Negotiator for Lithuania’s Association Agreement with the EU.
Before assuming the presidency, Grybauskaitė was European Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budgets, where she was recognized as Commissioner of the Year in 2005. Her work focused on budgetary oversight, financial programming, and promoting economic transparency across the EU.
She continues to engage in multilateral and governance initiatives, serving on advisory boards including the Council of Women World Leaders and the Board of Trustees of Friends of Europe. She co-chairs the UN High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) and is a member of the Friends of Europe Ukraine Initiative Steering Group and the High- Ranking International Task Force on Security and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.