The Third Seimas of Lithuania was the third parliament (Seimas

Seimas

The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...

) democratically elected in Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

 after it declared independence

Act of Independence of Lithuania

The Act of Independence of Lithuania or Act of February 16 was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty...

 on February 16, 1918. The elections took place on May 8-10, 1926. For the first time Lithuanian Christian Democrats

Lithuanian Christian Democrats

The Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. Originally established in 1905, it was closely associated with the Roman Catholic Church...

 were forced to remain in opposition. The coalition government made some unpopular decisions and was sharply criticized. Regular Seimas work was interrupted by a military coup d'état in December 1926

1926 Lithuanian coup d'état

The 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état was a military coup d'etat in Lithuania that resulted in the replacement of the democratically elected government with a conservative authoritarian government led by Antanas Smetona. The coup took place on December 17, 1926 and was largely organized by the military;...

 when the democratically elected government was replaced with the authoritarian government of Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from April 4, 1919 to June 19, 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from December 19, 1926 to June 15, 1940, before...

 and Augustinas Voldemaras

Augustinas Voldemaras

Augustinas Voldemaras was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He served as the country's first Prime Minister in 1918, and again from 1926 to 1929.- Biography :...

. The Third Seimas was dissolved on March 12, 1927 and new elections were not called until 1936.

Elections

Results of 1926 parliamentary election
Party	Seats
Christian Democrats Lithuanian Christian Democrats The Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. Originally established in 1905, it was closely associated with the Roman Catholic Church...  (krikdemai)	30
Peasant Popular Union (liaudininkai)	22
Social Democrats Social Democratic Party of Lithuania The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania is a centre-left and social democratic political party in Lithuania. It is the oldest party in Lithuania, founded in 1896. The party's president since 2009 is Algirdas Butkevičius. The party led a minority government in the unicameral Seimas, Lithuania's...  (socdemai)	15
National Union (tautininkai)	3
Farmers' Union	2
Minorities (Germans, Jews, and Poles)	13
Total	85

For the first time since 1920 Lithuanian Christian Democrats, which strongly supported the Catholic Church and clergy, did not obtain a political majority. Lithuanian people were disillusioned with the party as it was shaken by several financial scandals, did not cope with an economic crisis effectively, and ran into diplomatic disputes with Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, which recognized Polish claims to the Vilnius Region

Vilnius region

Vilnius Region , refers to the territory in the present day Lithuania, that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time,...

.

The Peasant Popular Union and Social Democrats formed a left-wing coalition against the Christian Democrats. Still not enough for a majority, the coalition had to include the minorities (Germans from the Klaipėda Region

Klaipėda Region

The Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors...

, Poles, and Jews). On June 7, Kazys Grinius

Kazys Grinius

Kazys Grinius was the third President of Lithuania, and held that office from 7 June 1926 to 17 December 1926.When Grinius was born in Selema, near Marijampolė, Lithuania was part of the Russian empire. He studied medicine at the University of Moscow and became a physician...

 was elected the 3rd President of Lithuania and Mykolas Sleževičius

Mykolas Sleževicius

Mykolas Sleževičius was a Lithuanian lawyer, political figure, and journalist, who served as Prime Minister of Lithuania on two occasions.- Early life :...

 became the Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Lithuania

The Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of the executive arm of Lithuania's government, and is chosen by the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. The modern office of Prime Minister was established in 1990, although the official title was "Chairperson of the Council of Ministers" until 25...

. Both of them were members of the Peasant Popular Union.

Activities

The new government was sharply attacked by the opposition. It lifted martial law

Martial law

Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...

, still in effect in Kaunas

Kaunas

Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...

 and other localities, restored democratic freedoms, and declared broad amnesty to political prisoners. For the first time Lithuania became truly democratic. Communists quickly took advantage of the freedom of speech and held a protest, attended by approximately 400 people, in Kaunas on June 13. The protest was dispersed, but the opposition attacked the government alleging that the incident presented a great threat to Lithuania and its military which the government was incapable of dealing with.

Further allegations of "Bolshevization" were made after Lithuania signed the non-aggression treaty with the Soviet Union

Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact

Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact was a non-aggression pact, signed between the Soviet Union and Lithuania on September 28, 1926. The pact confirmed all basic provisions of the Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty of 1920...

. The treaty, signed on September 28, 1926, was conceived by the previous Seimas dominated by the Christian Democrats. However, this time Christian Democrats voted against the treaty, while Antanas Smetona strongly supported it. It drew sharp criticism as Lithuania exchanged repeated recognition of its rights to the Vilnius Region for international isolation as the treaty demanded that Lithuania make no other alliances with other countries. On November 21, a student demonstration against "Bolshevization" was forcibly dispensed by the police.

Public outcry continued when the government, catering to the minorities, allowed over 80 Polish schools to open at the same time that the Polish government was closing Lithuanian schools in the fiercely contested Vilnius Region

Vilnius region

Vilnius Region , refers to the territory in the present day Lithuania, that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time,...

. The coalition government went head-to-head against the Christian Democrats when it proposed the cutting of salaries to the clergy and subsidies to Catholic schools from the 1927 budget. Further enemies were made when 200 conservative military officers were fired. The military started planning the December coup.

The coup and dissolution

The coup started on December 17, 1926, the day of 60th birthday of President Kazys Grinius as all important officials gathered in Kaunas for the celebration and before the 1927 budget with cuts to military and church was passed. The Seimas was dispersed and the President was placed under house arrest. Prime Minister Sleževičius resigned, and President Grinius appointed Augustinas Voldemaras

Augustinas Voldemaras

Augustinas Voldemaras was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He served as the country's first Prime Minister in 1918, and again from 1926 to 1929.- Biography :...

 as the new Prime Minister. Smetona and Voldemaras, both representing the Lithuanian National Union, invited Christian Democrats to join them in forming a new government and restoring some constitutional legitimacy. On December 19, 42 delegates (without Social Democrats and Peasant Popular Union) of the Seimas convened and elected Aleksandras Stulginskis

Aleksandras Stulginskis

Aleksandras Stulginskis Aleksandras Stulginskis Aleksandras Stulginskis (born (February 26, 1885 in Kutaliai, in Šilalė district municipality near Tauragė, Lithuania, Russian Empire; died September 22, 1969 in Kaunas) was the second President of Lithuania (1920–1926)...

 as the new Speaker of the Seimas, making him a formal head of state for a few hours before Smetona was elected as the President (38 deputies voted for, two against, and two abstained). The Seimas also gave a vote of confidence to the new cabined formed by Voldemaras. Therefore constitutional formalities were observed.

Christian Democrats, who believed that the coup was just a temporary measure, demanded new elections to Seimas while Smetona stalled predicting that his party would not be popular and that he would not be reelected as the President. The Nationalists were discussing constitutional changes to empower the executive branch while curbing the powers of Seimas. In April a group of populists tried to organize a coup "to defend the constitution," but it was discovered and the rebels were arrested. Among them were Juozas Pajaujis, member of the Seimas. On April 12, 1927 the Seimas, appalled by such an arrest, delivered motion of no confidence against the Voldemaras government. Smetona, using his constitutional right, dissolved the Seimas. The constitution was broken, however, when no new elections were called in two months. The next elections took place only in 1936.