Juozas Olekas

{{short description|Lithuanian surgeon and politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Juozas Olekas | honorific_suffix = | image = Raffaele Fitto meets with Juozas Olekas (cropped).jpg | office = [[Speaker of the Seimas]] | term_start = 10 September 2025 | term_end = | predecessor = [[Saulius Skvernelis]] | successor = | order2 = [[Member of the European Parliament]] | term_start2 = 2 July 2019 | term_end2 = 15 July 2024 | constituency2 = [[Lithuania (European Parliament constituency)|Lithuania]] | order3 = [[Ministry of National Defence (Lithuania)|Minister of National Defence]] | prime_minister3 = [[Algirdas Butkevičius]] | term_start3 = 13 December 2012 | term_end3 = 13 December 2016 | predecessor3 = [[Rasa Juknevičienė]] | successor3 = [[Raimundas Karoblis]] | prime_minister4 = [[Gediminas Kirkilas]] | term_start4 = 4 July 2006 | term_end4 = 9 December 2008 | predecessor4 = [[Gediminas Kirkilas]] | successor4 = [[Rasa Juknevičienė]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1955|10|30|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Bolshoy Ungut]], [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]], [[Soviet Union]]<br>{{small|(now [[Russia]])}} | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Social Democratic Party of Lithuania|LSDP]] (since 1989) | alma_mater = [[Lithuanian University of Health Sciences]]<br>[[Vilnius University]] | office1 = [[Seimas|Member of the Seimas]] | term_start1 = 27 October 2024 | term_end1 = | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | caption = Olekas in 2025 }} '''Juozas Olekas''' (born 30 October 1955) is a [[Lithuania]]n surgeon and politician, a former Minister of National Defence, from 2006 to 2008. In 1990 and from 2003 to 2004 he also served as the [[Ministry of Health (Lithuania)|Health Minister]]. In 2019 he was elected to the European Parliament.<ref>{{Cite web|title=EP NARIAI IŠ LIETUVOS|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/lithuania/lt/europarlamentarai/ep-nariai-i%C5%A1-lietuvos|website=www.europarl.europa.eu|language=lt|access-date=May 16, 2020}}</ref>

Olekas studied at [[Kaunas University of Medicine|Kaunas Institute of Medicine]] from 1974 to 1976, and at [[Vilnius University]] from 1976 to 1980.

Between 1994 and 1997 he was a chief physician at the Vilnius University hospital.

Olekas is married to Aurelija Olekienė, they have two daughters.

Olekas was [[Vilija Blinkevičiūtė]]'s main competitor in the [[2021 Social Democratic Party of Lithuania leadership election]], finishing second with 44% of the vote.

As of 2 August 2025 he is seen as one of the most likely candidates (together with [[Mindaugas Sinkevičius]], [[Robert Duchniewicz|Robert Duchnevich]] and [[Inga Ruginienė]]) to replace former Prime minister [[Gintautas Paluckas]].

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Juozas Olekas}} * [http://www.kam.lt/index.php/en/144696/ Biography at the Ministry of National Defence] * [http://www3.lrs.lt/seimu_istorija/w3_lrs.seimo_narys-p_asm_id=7193&p_int_tv_id=784&p_kalb_id=1&p_kade_id=3.htm Biography at the Lithuanian government website] {{in lang|lt}} {{Current EP Lithuania}} {{EP Political Group S&D}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olekas, Juozas}} [[Category:1955 births]] [[Category:Health ministers of Lithuania]] [[Category:Lithuanian surgeons]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Members of the Seimas]] [[Category:Ministers of defence of Lithuania]] [[Category:Speakers of the Seimas]] [[Category:Vilnius University alumni]] [[Category:MEPs for Lithuania 2019–2024]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class]] [[Category:20th-century Lithuanian medical doctors]] [[Category:21st-century Lithuanian medical doctors]] [[Category:21st-century surgeons]] [[Category:20th-century surgeons]]