Magnitsky Awards
Committee Member’s Bio

Gabrielius Landsbergis was born under Soviet occupation. He first tasted freedom as a child when the people of Lithuania, led by his grandfather Vytautas Landsbergis, faced Russian tanks to restore their independence. It is not surprising that the defence of that freedom has been the central theme of his career.

Beginning as a diplomat with little desire to enter politics, he eventually decided to run for a seat in the European Parliament and received an overwhelming number of votes, propelling him to become Chair of his centre-right party, the Homeland Union. He went on to serve two terms in the Lithuanian Parliament, culminating in his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs, completing the circle back to diplomacy.

In his time as Foreign Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis made sure that Lithuania became known globally as a standard-bearer in the fight for freedom and rule of law. He provided huge support to Ukraine, expanded Lithuania’s connections in the Indo-Pacific and supported initiatives in support of all freedom-loving people, in Moldova, Georgia, Taiwan or any place where freedom is under threat.

His ability to cut through noise became his hallmark, adding 100k followers on Twitter with his bold and principled statements, many TV appearances (CNN, HardTalk, Sky, Bloomberg, Fox) and influential official speeches in Brussels and the US. It is fair to say that he punched way above Lithuania’s weight and became a leading and award-winning voice in international affairs.

Gabrielius Landsbergis’ signature values-based approach to foreign policy was never the easiest way, and sometimes it is impossible, but it is never naïve. He knows that the survival of our freedoms relies on strong defence of our values and our borders, by military means if necessary, never choosing dishonour, always aiming for victory, handing down a free world to our children, whatever it takes.

Since leaving all his political and diplomatic posts in 2024, Gabrielius continues to leverage his communication skills to push back against despots and their collaborators all over the world. His diaries and analysis are being prepared for publishing in 2025, and he continues the conversation on social media and his own website landsbergis.com. He decided not to retire, he decided to escalate.