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
Economy of Lithuania half of the total value of natural resources. The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1995–2017. Economy of Lithuania Lithuania is a member of the European Union and the largest economy among the three Baltic states. GDP per capita in Lithuania is highest in the Baltic states and is 63% above the world's average of $17,300. Lithuania belongs to the group of very high human development countries and is a member of WTO an OECD. Lithuania was the first country to declare independence from Soviet Union in 1990 and rapidly moved from centrally planned to a market economy,