Lithuanian Police
Veterans Association

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History of the Lithuanian Police Veterans Association

Throughout their lives, people are surrounded and united by many different things: common interests, love, friendship, many years of service.

This is especially important for the officers of the interior affairs, in particular police officers, whose specific job is characterized by constant stress, deprivation, imminent danger to health and life. Therefore, they are well aware of what support of colleagues, understanding, opportunity to lean on a friend’s shoulder or to be backed up mean… Sooner or later the time comes to have a well-earned rest and give way to others in the lineup. It is a natural, but at the same time difficult moment, because one can feel that there is still enough strength and that he or she can be useful for the people and for the Homeland and, most importantly – not to stay lonely.It is also important to have a socially secure elderliness, a pension earned through sweat and sometimes blood, other social guarantees. It is no secret that there have been moments in the recent history of our State when certain deserved guarantees were not provided and this reminded veterans that one man in a field is not a warrior and that only in a cohesive and active organization people are able to successfully deal with the relevant issues.

Thus, indifferent to their problems Law enforcement veterans gathered at the National Trade Union of officers on March 16, 2010 in Vilnius. The meeting was focused on the problems that had arisen and were still arising: reduced pensions, social rehabilitation, non-functioning integration program, inadequate health care for veterans. The words of the Chairman of the Supreme Council, Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, said twenty years ago, were recalled, calling for service in the restored State of Lithuania, ensuring all social guarantees and proper conditions of service. In order to strengthen protection of the interests of officers and soldiers, it was decided to establish their own organization.

On April 14, 2010 the inaugural meeting of the Association of Officers and Soldiers Veterans took place in Vilnius and was attended by 40 former law enforcement officers and reserve soldiers from all over the country. The Association was called the “Association of Officers and Soldiers Veterans”, its statute was adopted and the governing bodies were elected.

Gintaras Motiejūnas, the former Head of the Criminal Police Unit, was elected as the first president of the Association, as well as the Board of eleven members was formed: Kęstutis Simanauskas (Šiauliai), Robertas Akelis (Vilnius), Romualdas Rutkauskas (Kaunas), Bronius Olekas (Kaunas), Jonas Gečas (Vilnius), Stasys Bunokas (Vilnius), Vytautas Žemionis (Vilnius), Gintautas Lagunavičius (Vilnius), Romualdas Variakojis (Šakiai) and Sigitas Žičkus (Vilnius). The main goal of the Board was to coordinate the activities of the members of the Association, to represent their interests, take care of social guarantees, provide assistance in matters of social adjustment, medical care, rehabilitation.

On May 12, 2010 the Association was registered in the State enterprise Center of Registers. The main purpose of the Association at that time was to compensate the state pensions, which were reduced by the provisional law, for officers and soldiers. For that reason, proposals were submitted to the President of the Republic of Lithuania, the Parliament, the Government and the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, regarding the possibility to compensate the reduced pensions. A picket was held near the Ministry of the Interior in order to draw public attention to the problem.

On February 27, 2011 local government elections were held in Lithuania in which the President of the Association of Officers and Soldiers Veterans Gintaras Motiejūnas submitted his candidacy. As participation in political activities contradicted the statute of the Association, G. Motiejūnas had to resign. Romualdas Rutkauskas, a member of the Board, was temporarily appointed as the Head of the Board of the Association. The activities of the Association were continued, its priorities were focused on the development of the organization.

The activities of the Association did not stop even after a loss of Romualdas Rutkauskas. From April 10, 2012 to April 27, 2013 Stasys Bunokas, a member of the Board, was in the position of the Head of the Association.

Realizing that overall success depends on the activity of the members and development of the Association, attention was paid to this goal. Meetings were held with the former county and district officials in order to encourage the establishment of the branches of the Association in the regions. The branches of the Association were established in Tauragė, Klaipėda, Šilalė and other regions of the country. However, there was a lack of initiative and support from the military veterans, therefore support was sought from the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania and the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania.

On June 22, 2012 a group of former police officers (Vizgirdas Telyčėnas, Jonas Liaudanskas, Liutauras Vasiliauskas, Vytautas Navickas, Stanislovas Liutkevičius, Vytautas Jonikas, Kęstutis Tubis, Vytautas Žemionis) met with the Police Commissioner General Saulius Skvernelis, Deputy Police Commissioner General Algirdas Stončaitis and other officers. Police professionals with extensive experience expressed their willingness to participate more actively in legislative processes, take care of social guarantees of former and current police officers, protect their interests and further develop traditions of the Police system.

The Police Commissioner General welcomed the retired officers and their efforts to contribute to the well-being of all police officers. “If people show initiative, it has to be encouraged”, Saulius Skvernelis said.The members of the group invited other reserve police officers to join them. It was planned to establish an association that would operate across the country and unite all reserve police officers.As the Police Commissioner General Saulius Skvernelis noted, a new union or association of the Lithuanian police veterans (pensioners, reserve officers) should not affect already existing structures of pensioners, especially the pensioners’ union of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. In his view, a starting point should have been 11 March 1990. Everyone who had taken an oath to Lithuania could become a member of the Lithuanian Police Reserve Officers’ Union.

The reorganization of the Association of Officers and Soldiers Veterans, renaming it as the “Association of the Lithuanian Police Veterans” took place on December 6, 2012. Stasys Bunokas was elected as the Chairman of the Board of the Association of the Lithuanian Police Veterans.

Stasys Bunokas

Kęstutis Tubis

New management bodies of the Association of the Lithuanian Police Veterans were elected at the general meeting held in Kaunas on April 27, 2013. Kęstutis Tubis, the former Deputy Police Commissioner General, was elected as the Chairman of the Board of the Association. The Board consisted of Kęstutis Tubis, Vytautas Grigaravičius, Nikita Maliutinas, Vytautas Žemionis, Stasys Bunokas, Vytautas Navickas, Bronius Olekas, Romualdas Variakojis, Irina Dubinienė.

Prior to the general election meeting the Association of the Lithuanian Police Veterans had already had their logo, the flag and other attributes approved by the Heraldry Commission. The first branches of the Association were established on October 18, 2013 in Mažeikiai and Telšiai and on January 27, 2014 in Kaunas. In the elections of municipal councils and mayors which were held in Lithuania in March 2015, the Chairman of the Board of the Association K. Tubis was elected as a Mayor of Anykščiai District. Kęstutis Tubis submitted a request to the Association Board to dismiss him from the position of the Chairman of the Board, while allowing him to remain a member of the Association.

On September 26, 2015 by the decision of the general meeting of the Association of the Lithuanian Police Veterans, a new version of the statute of the Association was adopted. The former Deputy Police Commissioner General Vytautas Navickas was elected as the Chairman of the Board.

On April 23, 2016 at the Association meeting new members of the Association Board were elected. Vytautas Navickas became the Chairman of the Board. On March 30, 2019 at the Association meeting, when the terms of office of the Chairman and the Board came to an end, all management bodies of the Association resigned. By the decision of the meeting, a new Board of the Association was elected and position of the Chairman of the Board was again entrusted to Vytautas Navickas. Currently, there are 24 branches of the Association in 30 cities and districts of the Republic of Lithuania, uniting more than 1,500 members.