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 Lithuanian branches. Lithuania traditionaly has strong agricultural, furniture, textile, biotechnology and laser industries. Maxima is a retail chain operating in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Bulgaria and it is the largest Lithuanian capital company and the largest employer in the Baltic states. Girteka Logistics is a largest Europe's transport company. "Biotechpharma" is a biopharmaceutical research and development company with a focus on recombinant protein technology development. The BIOK Laboratory is a startup founded by biochemistry scientists which is the biggest producer of Lithuanian natural cosmetic products. The number of the population aged 15 years and over is 1.45 million, activity