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Rector

Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas, Rector of Vilnius University

Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas was inaugurated as the Rector of Vilnius University on April 1, 2020, and was re-elected for a second term in 2025.

Mission of the Rector:

  • To foster a united university community,
  • To consolidate the university’s academic leadership internationally,
  • To reinforce the university’s role in society and public life.

The essential idea of ​​the Rector's program is to empower the university as a wise and creative community based on consensus and trust. The Rector considers the orientation of studies towards the development of a full-fledged and creative personality, the development of interdisciplinary and international research, and the strengthening of the university's role in society and the country to be the main priorities.

VU rektorius prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas

Academic and professional experience

  • Obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in History and a PhD in Humanities at Vilnius University. Research interests include the political and social history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (13th–16th centuries) and late medieval Europe.
  • Studied and completed research fellowships at the Universities of Basel, the Free University of Berlin, Greifswald, and Kraków, as well as at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw and the Herder Institute in Marburg.
  • Full Member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.
  • President of the Lithuanian University Rectors’ Conference (2022–2023).
  • Member of the International Historical Commission for Research on the Teutonic Order.
  • Dean of the Faculty of History at Vilnius University (2012–2020).
  • Chair of the Board of the Research Council of Lithuania (2018–2020).
  • Chair of the Implementation Group of the National Programme for the Development of Lituanistics (2009–2015).
  • Member of the editorial boards of various international academic journals.

Awards

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