Leonas Bistras, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Leonas Bistras

Lithuanian politician

Date of Birth: 20-Oct-1890

Place of Birth: Liepāja, Latvia

Date of Death: 17-Oct-1971

Profession: politician, diplomat, university teacher, journalist, philosopher

Nationality: Lithuania

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Leonas Bistras (20 October 1890 in Liepaja – 17 October 1971 in Kaunas) was one of the most prominent Lithuanian politicians of the interwar period.
A Christian Democrat, he rose to the peak of his career in 1925, when he was appointed as the Prime Minister of Lithuania.
Bistras also headed the ministries of education, defense and foreign affairs in several different governments throughout 1920s and 1930s and twice served as the speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas.
After the 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état and the subsequent fall of parliamentary democracy, Bistras led the Christian Democrats and, despite persecution, acted as an outspoken leader of the opposition to the authoritarian President Antanas Smetona. After the Soviet occupation and annexation of Lithuania, Bistras was arrested, sentenced without a trial and deported from Lithuania, only returning permanently after the death of Josef Stalin.
Bistras lived the remaining years of his life in obscurity and poverty, supported only by the local people of Kaunas.