History
Lithuania's first constitution was adopted on May 3, 1791 in an effort to reform the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, consisting of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. However, it was short-lived and was never completely implemented. The Third Partitions of Poland took place in 1795 and the commonwealth ceased to exist when Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire.
After World War I, Lithuania declared independence on February 16, 1918. Three separate draft constitutions were presented on November 2, 1918, April 4, 1919 and June 10, 1920. The Constituent Assembly (Steigiamasis Seimas) did not adopt a constitution until August 1, 1922. It resembled modern Western European constitutions. In 1928 and 1938 new constitutions were adopted to reflect the authoritarian leadership of Antanas Smetona. In 1940 and 1978, new constitutions of Lithuanian SSR were adopted, similar to the other Soviet constitutions.
Read more about this topic: Constitution Of Lithuania
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