Signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania recognition. The signatories succeeded in their mission and independent Lithuania survived until the Soviet Union occupied the state on June 15, 1940. Their political, professional, and social backgrounds were diverse. Several rose to political prominence; Antanas Smetona and Aleksandras Stulginskis were later elected Presidents of Lithuania and Jonas Vileišis went on to become mayor of Kaunas, the temporary capital of Lithuania. After Lithuania lost its independence during World War II, six of the surviving signatories were sent to prison or executed by the Soviet government and six others emigrated to Western countries. The signatories came from a variety of social
Air Lithuania August 1997, the shares of Air Lithuania were transferred to the parent company Lithuanian Airlines. In May 2004, Air Lithuania was bought by Arijus, a Lithuanian transport and logistics company, and subsequently sold to World Aviation Capital, a British company. At the time of the sale the company had debts of approximately 20 million litas, while its annual gross income reached 40 million in 2004. The airline filed for bankruptcy in November 2005. It was the first airline bankruptcy in Lithuania. In 2004 the airline carried 54,500 passengers (24% increase over 2003). At first the airline used Tupolev Tu-134 and