Ingrida Simonyte was confirmed as Lithuania's new finance minister today, according to dpa. Simonyte, 34, has worked at the ministry since 1997. From 2002 she headed the tax department. She was appointed a ministerial undersecretary in 2004. President Valdas Adamkus confirmed the nomination, put forward by Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius. Simonyte will take an oath of office at the national parliament, or Seimas, on Tuesday. The finance position was left vacant after the resignation of Algirdas Semeta. He recently went to Brussels to replace president- elect Dalia Grybauskaite as the EU's Financial Programming and Budget Commissioner. Grybauskaite's inauguration on July 12 will ensure that women occupy two of the most important seats in Lithuania's political hierarchy. Simonyte has a tough task ahead of her with Lithuania sliding ever deeper into recession and big public spending cuts proving unpopular with the public. Unemployment is at around 10 per cent while the economy is also expected to contract by a double digit figure. Even her own wage packet is likely to be a disappointment as the government confirmed plans Friday to slash ministerial wages by 15 per cent. Danske Bank's Baltic analyst, Violeta Klyviene, said the appointment of Simonyte was good news, describing her as professional and well-informed. "The new minister has a clear understanding of the problems facing the Lithuanian economy and particularly public finances," Klyviene said in a written comment. "Public wage cuts and VAT increases are not popular, but there is general acceptance of the necessity of such measures," she added.
