Dr. Karolis Aleksa and Tomas Godliauskas, the Vice Ministers appointed by the new Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė, started work at the Ministry of National Defence this week.
The area of competence of Dr. K. Aleksa comprises defence policy, defence planning at the National Defence System, military service and conscription, policy of national budget appropriations and their management. Dr. K. Aleksa has an impressive span of experience at the Ministry of National Defence across its different divisions in subordinate and senior positions. His most recent duties were as the Head of the Defence Policy Group. Yet earlier career includes the Defence Advisor position at the Representation of the Republic of Lithuania at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Head of the MoD International Relations and Operations Department, staff member at the Defence Policy and Planning Department. The academic career of the new Vice Minister encompasses working as a lecturer at Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science and the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania. Dr. K. Aleksa holds a PhD in Political Science, Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science, he underwent a thesis internship at Essex University and Higher Command Studies Course at the Baltic Defence College in Estonia.
T. Godliauskas will be responsible for readiness for civil resistance, mobilization, resilience to cyber threats, cyber security, crisis management and civil safety in the National Defence System, as well as strategic communication and other activities. Prior to the current appointment T. Godliauskas was the National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic of Lithuania and the Secretary of the National Total Defence Coordination Board and the State Defence Council. He is a Lithuanian Armed Forces reserve officer who served across the different units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in 2002–2018 and carried out multinational deployments to Afghanistan. T. Godliauskas graduated from the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, the United States Army Command and General Staff College, different courses in Lithuania and abroad.
Minister’s team of advisors also includes Artur Plokšto, Dr. Giedrius Česnakas and Dovydas Šotland-Juzefovičius, and spokesperson Ignas Grinevičius.
