ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the role that the presidency plays in the mechanism of Lithuanian foreign policy development and how a particular agent (president) can change the presidential powers in foreign policy without going beyond the functions formally defined in the constitution. Grybauskaitė’s efforts as an actor to define her role in shaping Lithuanian foreign policy during 2009–2019 are analysed. The role of the president is assessed in the context of the activities and behaviour of former Lithuanian presidents, and their relations with other institutions involved in foreign policymaking, that is, the MFA and the Seimas (the national parliament). The article analyses the relationship between the actor (Grybauskaitė) and the already established structure of domestic foreign policy development and the ability of the actor to change this structure. The analysis suggests that it is precisely because of the choices made by Grybauskaitė during 2009–2019 that the relationship between the structures of foreign policymaking in Lithuania has changed considerably and the centre of power for foreign policy development has shifted to the presidency.
