Renatas Vinkauskas
Renatas Vinkauskas | |
|---|---|
 Renatas Vinkauskas in 1981 | |
| 36th Premier of Werania | |
| In office 27 November 1978 – 8 March 1984 | |
| Monarch | Otto X |
| Preceded by | Adolf Stahl |
| Succeeded by | Ludolf Ostermann |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 July 1929 Lipliškės, Occupied Ruttland |
| Died | 25 July 2017 (aged 87) Šilokrautė, Ruttland, Werania |
| Political party | KSP, NKP |
| Spouse(s) | Vivian Kronthaler (m. 1954; div. 1987) Isabella Dreyfus (m. 1988) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Lipliškės |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Werania |
| Service/ | Army |
| Years of service | 1947-1950 |
| Battles/wars | Kirenian-Weranian War |
Other offices held
| |
Renatas Vinkauskas (30 July 1929 - 25 July 2017, aged 87) was a Weranian politician, trade unionist and Sotirian humanist who served as the 36th premier from February 1980 to May 1984. The first Ruttish premier since 1883 Vinkauskas was a member of the National Consolidation Party serving in various ministerial roles from 1967 to 1978 when he became premier. Vinkauskas would leave office in 1984 when the NKP was defeated in the 1984 election to a left-wing coalition, the first NKP leader to be ousted in an election.
Vinkauskas was born in a middle class family in occupied Ruttland during the Great War. After serving in the army during the Kirenian-Weranian War Vinkauskas studying literature at the University of Lipliškės graduating with a masters degree in 1955. Following university he became active in the Confederation of Catholic Trade Unions (BKG) and its associated parties the Catholic Social Party and it's successor the National Consolidation Party. These political connections led to Vinkauskas to successfully gain a seat in the House of Deputies in the 1959 election. A protégé of Rudolf Wiefelspütz Vinkauskas became a member of Wiefelspütz's cabinet in 1967 as the Minister of Posts and Communications where he took a liberal view towards censorship abolishing many restrictions for films and television and spearheading a new federal age rating system for cinemas. In 1969 he became Minister of Education, 1972 Minister of Foreign Affairs and 1977 Finance Minister.
Following Johannes Zollitsch's death in 1977 Vinkauskas attempted to become leader but was beaten to the post by Interior Minister Adolf Stahl. Stahl would however become unpopular after Vinkauskas and his supporters moved against him, leading to him to resign a year later enabling Vinkauskas to become premier and NKP leader after securing the support of Wiefelspütz leading the NKP to be re-elected in the 1980 election. Vinkauskas's term was dominated by financial crisis which came to Werania after the collapse of the Einem Group. A fiscal conservative Vinkauskas cut public spending after having requested a loan from the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs leading to frequent public unrest over high unemployment. In foreign policy Vinkauskas was more active supporting secessionist forces in the Sostava War and the general breakup of the Soravian Second Republic whilst also being a firm supporter of Euclean integration. Vinkauskas lost popularity during his time in office due to poor economic performance, social unrest and his wooden personality.
In 1982 the Steinman Scandal broke which saw the NKP accused of soliciting favours through an illegal slush fund that funnelled Steinman donations to the party. The Steinman scandal combined with the economic crisis led to a collapse in support for the NKP and led to the formation of a new liberal conservative party, the Modern Centre Party. This combined with the emergence of the Social Democratic Radical Bloc led to the NKP to be defeated in the 1984 election to a centre-left coalition, the first time since its foundation that the NKP had lost power. Vinkauskas resigned as premier but became the unofficial leader of the left-wing of the NKP thereafter. He became a member of the House of Councillors in 1989 being re-elected to his seat until his retirement in 2005. Vinkauskas died of respiratory problems in 2017.
