Virginijus Sinkevičius

Virginijus Sinkevičius (born 4 November 1990) is a Lithuanian politician who has been serving as European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries in the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen since 2019. He previously was a Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and Minister of the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania.

Virginijus Sinkevičius
Sinkevičius in 2022
European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
Assumed office
1 December 2019
PresidentUrsula von der Leyen
Preceded byKarmenu Vella
Minister of Economy and Innovation
In office
27 November 2017 – 30 November 2019
Prime MinisterSaulius Skvernelis
Preceded byMindaugas Sinkevičius
Succeeded byŽygimantas Vaičiūnas (acting)
Rimantas Sinkevičius
Member of the Seimas
In office
14 November 2016 – 28 November 2019
Preceded byAudronius Ažubalis
Succeeded byMindaugas Lingė (2020)
ConstituencyŠeškinė
Personal details
Born (1990-11-04) 4 November 1990
Vilnius, Lithuania
Political partyFarmers and Greens Union
EducationAberystwyth University
Maastricht University

Early life and education

In 2009, Sinkevičius graduated from Salomėja Nėris Gymnasium of Vilnius, Lithuania, where he was born. He then pursued his undergraduate studies in Aberystwyth University from where he received a Bachelor of Economic and Social Studies degree in 2012.

In 2012, Sinkevičius was a trainee in the Unit of Regional and Ethnic Affairs at the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania. In 2013, he received a Master of Arts in European Studies from Maastricht University.

Sinkevičius speaks Lithuanian as mother tongue, as well as English, Russian and Polish.[1]

Early career

In 2012–2015, Sinkevičius was an author and editor of the news portal Lithuania Tribune. In 2013–2014, he served as an assistant project manager at the Centre for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, D.C.

In 2014, Sinkevičius worked as an international group project manager in Lietuvos paštas; in 2014–2015, he participated in the ‘Create Lithuania’ program. In 2015–2016, he was the project coordinator in the concession project of the Lithuanian Airports (LTOU). In 2016, he was a team leader of the Group for Improving the Investment Environment in Public Enterprise Invest Lithuania.

In 2017, Sinkevičius completed Digital Policy course in University of Oxford.

Political career

Career in national politics

In the 2016 parliamentary elections, Sinkevičius was elected to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania in the single-member as an independent candidate Šeškinė constituency in Vilnius; he was then appointed Chair of the Committee on Economic Affairs.

On 27 November 2017, Sinkevičius was appointed Minister of Economy in the cabinet of Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis and, following the reorganization of the Ministry of Economy, he became Minister of the Economy and Innovation.[2]

European Commissioner

On 22 August 2019, the Lithuanian parliament approved Sinkevičius’ nomination for European commissioner;[3] the nomination was agreed upon by Prime Minister Skvernelis and Ramūnas Karbauskis, the leader of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS).[4]

Upon taking office, Sinkevičius became the youngest-ever European Commissioner, at the age of 28.[5]

In 2022, Sinkevičius proposed legally binding targets to halve the use of chemical pesticides and restore nature across the EU to at least 20% of EU land by 2030, in an attempt to better protect health and recover plunging wildlife populations.[6]

Recognition

In 2018, Sinkevičius was awarded for The Best Solution for Better Business Environment of the Year by the association Investors’ Forum, and Blockchain Leadership at #SWITCH! Tech Awards. In 2019, he received the Partnership Leader 2018 award for innovation reform and development of startup ecosystem from the organisation Lithuanian Business Confederation. In 2018, Sinkevičius was included in the list of 100 World’s Most Influential Young People in Government by the website Apolitical.[2]

References
  1. "Virginijus Sinkevičius". Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas (in Lithuanian).
  2. "Virginijus Sinkevičius". Lietuvos Respublikos ekonomikos ir inovacijų ministerija (in Lithuanian). Archived from the original on 16 September 2019.
  3. Saulius Jakučionis (22 August 2019). "Lithuanian parliament approves nomination of Economy Minister Sinkevičius to European Commission". Lithuanian National Radio and Television.
  4. David M. Herszenhorn (7 August 2019), Lithuania puts forward economy minister for European Commission Politico Europe.
  5. Eline Schaart and Louise Guillot (1 December 2020), Honeymoon’s almost over for EU’s green guardian Politico Europe.
  6. Kate Abnett and Francesco Guarascio (22 June 2022), EU seeks to halve use of pesticides, heal nature with landmark laws Reuters.
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