Vytenis Andriukaitis

Vytenis Andriukaitis was appointed European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety in November 2014. He was born in 1951 in Siberia, Soviet Union, where his family was deported in 1941 from Lithuania. He returned to Lithuania in 1958 together with his mother and two brothers. His father was permitted to return one year later. He graduated from medical school in 1975 and has been a practicing surgeon with a specialisation in cardiovascular surgery for more than 20 years. He also holds a degree in History from Vilnius University. From 1969 onwards the Commissioner was active in the anti-Soviet movement. In 1990 he was elected to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania and was a signatory of the Independence Act. Vytenis Andriukaitis was also one of the co-authors of the Constitution of Lithuania adopted in 1992 and one of the founders of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party. Vytenis Andriukaitis was a Member of Parliament for six terms. During that time he served as a Deputy Chairman of the Committee on European. From 2012 to 2014 he was Minister for Health in the Lithuanian Government.