Aušrinė Armonaitė

Aušrinė Armonaitė (born 26 May 1989) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the chairperson of the Freedom Party from 2019 to 2024. Previously a member of the Liberal Movement and a vice chairperson from 2017 until 2018, Armonaitė was first elected to the Seimas in the 2016 parliamentary election. In 2018, she resigned from the Liberal Movement and later joined the social liberal and progressive Freedom Party. She led the party into the 2020 parliamentary election, where the party won 11 seats and became represented in the Seimas for the first time.

On 7 December 2020, she was approved to serve as Minister of Economy and Innovation in the Šimonytė Cabinet.

Early life and education Armonaitė was born in Vilnius. She enrolled in Mykolas Biržiška Gymnasium in 2004, and later graduated in 2008. As a young adult, Armonaitė was elected chairperson of the Lithuanian Liberal Youth in 2010, after first joining the organization as a teenager.

Political career Early career Armonaitė began her career in 2013, when she was hired as an analyst for the chamber of commerce the Lithuanian Business Confederation (ICC). She remained in this position for two years, until departing in 2015.

In 2018, Armonaitė announced her departure from the Liberal Movement, and began to serve in parliament as an unaffiliated politician. She later joined the newly formed social liberal and progressive Freedom Party, and was elected to serve as its chairperson. Despite joining the Freedom Party, she continued to be an unaffiliated member of parliament, as the party had not won any seats in the previous election.

2020–present Armonaitė led the Freedom Party into an election for the first time in the 2020 parliamentary election. She stood for election in the newly created Lithuanians abroad constituency, which granted parliamentary representation to Lithuanians living outside of the country. After receiving a plurality of votes in the first round of the election, she ultimately was reelected to parliament in the second round, receiving 53.15% of the vote.

Following the certification of election results, the Freedom Party received 11 seats and it emerged that a coalition would likely be formed between the Freedom Party, Liberal Movement, and election winners Homeland Union. Proposing Ingrida Šimonytė as their prime ministerial candidate, Armonaitė was expected to be one of the three main leaders of the incoming government, in addition to Šimonytė and Liberal Movement leader Viktorija Čmilytė, following in the footsteps of the Marin Cabinet in Finland for having a woman-led government. On 9 November, the coalition agreement was signed between the Homeland Union, Liberal Movement, and Freedom Party.

Minister of Economy and Innovation On 18 November 2020, Ingrida Šimonytė confirmed that she intended to nominate Armonaitė to serve as minister of economy and innovation in her cabinet.

Personal life Armonaitė is married to Edgaras Stanišauskas, whom she met while both were members of the Lithuanian Liberal Youth in 2009.