Vytautas Petrulis
Vytautas Petrulis | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister of Lithuania | |
| In office 4 February 1925 – 19 September 1925 | |
| President | Aleksandras Stulginskis |
| Preceded by | Antanas Tumėnas |
| Succeeded by | Leonas Bistras |
| Minister of Finance of Lithuania | |
| In office 21 August 1922 – 19 September 1925 | |
| Prime Minister | Ernestas Galvanauskas Antanas Tumėnas |
| Preceded by | Jonas Dobkevičius |
| Succeeded by | Petras Karvelis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 February 1890 Kateliškiai, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 3 December 1941 (aged 51) |
| Cause of death | Executed by the NKVD |
| Party | Party of National Progress Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party |
| Relatives | Alfonsas Petrulis (brother) |
| Alma mater | Moscow Commercial Institute |
Vytautas Petrulis (3 February 1890 – 3 December 1941) was a Lithuanian banker and politician. He was the minister of finance (1922–1925), prime minister (1925), and speaker of the Seimas (1925–1926). He is often nicknamed "the father of the litas" as it was during his term as minister of finance that the Lithuanian litas was introduced.
Educated at the Moscow Commercial Institute, Petrulis returned to Lithuania in March 1918 and worked to establish the Trade and Industry Bank and its branch in Klaipėda. He became a member of the Council of Lithuania in November 1918. He was the acting minister of finance in March–April 1920 and minister of finance from August 1922 to September 1925 in five different Cabinets of Lithuania. He worked to introduce the Lithuanian litas, normalize state budget, and reform taxes and import duties.
He became the prime minister of Lithuania in February 1925. At the start of his tenure, the Concordat of 1925 was concluded between the Holy See and the Second Republic of Poland causing a diplomatic crisis between Lithuania and the Holy See. Petrulis opened negotiations with Poland regarding regarding timber transport via the Neman River, but even such limited negotiations proved to be highly unpopular due to the ongoing territorial dispute over Vilnius Region. He was forced to resign in September 1925, but became the speaker of the Seimas on the same day.
Accused of corruption, Petrulis resigned from the speakership in February 1926 and withdrew from politics. He spent his time running a 103-hectare (250-acre) farm near Kaunas that produced milk. The corruption allegations were investigated and the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania heard his case in May 1932. He was found guilty of appropriating government's funds and sentenced to two years in prison. However, he received a pardon after serving just 1.5 months.
On 30 July 1940, he was arrested by the NKVD and sentenced to eight years in prison. However, the Supreme Court of the Komi ASSR sentenced him to death in September 1941 for anti-Soviet agitation. Petrulis was executed near Ukhta.