"Lithuanian people wanted change and now they see it on the move. Not as fast as we had wanted but still in these 365 days Lithuania took the courage to go for change towards a more transparent, fairer, safer and more civic-spirited state. This is an ambitious agenda. But if we continue working hand in hand towards a common goal, we will succeed in creating a better Lithuania," the President says covering her first year in office.

For many people, according to the President, a better Lithuania is about lower consumer prices; therefore, the primary goal at the time of recession is to protect people against manipulation in prices, curb arbitrariness on the part of various interest groups and prevent price rise. Amendments to the Law on Pharmacy adopted in response to the President's call had a downward effect on medicine prices. The President's veto on amendments to the Law on Heat Sector prevented a rise in heat prices. With the dissolution of Lithuanian Electricity Organization, LEO LT, the adoption of a new methodology for calculating electricity prices and the creation of a functioning electricity market, electricity price regulation was introduced. New leadership of the Competition Council, the National Control Commission for Energy and Prices, and the National Audit Office enabled to monitor cartel agreements more closely, to contain water-supply and heat prices and to introduce a more rigorous supervision of the use of public funds and public property.

Protection of the poorest people is the primary task set by the President for social policy-makers. According to the President, a safe childhood and a secure old age are the centerpiece of a responsible social policy. The authorities responded to the President's call to provide a mechanism for compensating pension cuts, start long-term social security reform, create a legal framework against violence, adopt legal amendments imposing higher penalties for crimes against children, make the reduction of unemployment a priority for the Government, introduce a tax-exempt cap for social payments and put into action the programme to combat social exclusion in the region of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Visaginas.

The President says it is corruption that causes the largest damage to the state and people-to-people relations. "Corruption is like cancer metastasized in all spheres of life. We need a much more powerful cure than ever before," the President says. The President successfully insisted on the extension of the period of limitation for crimes of corruption and tabled proposals to the Seimas to set ten times higher sanctions for smuggling, corruption and economic crimes and to legalize the seizure of illegally acquired property. The President vetoed the Law on Land Reform and proposed amendments to prevent corrupt transactions in public land in urban areas, while the presidential veto on the Law on Construction eliminated the possibility of unauthorized construction and triggered legal amendments to guarantee a transparent issue of construction permits.

To make people trust the state, their trust in justice should first be promoted, the President says. On the President's initiative, a reform was started in law enforcement bodies with the aim to improve the transparency of the judiciary: a stricter procedure for assessing and selecting judges was introduced, the President meets with every candidate in person, and judicial supervisory authorities now impose harder sanctions for negligence on the part of judges, including dismissal from office. Also, legal amendments to tighten the control of courts were prepared, rotation of court presidents was introduced, the General Prosecutor's Office leadership was changed, and further improvements in the procedure and control of pre-trial investigation are underway.

National security is seen as a measure of credibility of the state. The President initiated the first-ever list of national security threats and the setting of clear tasks for intelligence services. Also, a national intelligence concept was developed and approved by the Seimas. Restructuring in the State Security Department aimed at depolitization was started following the appointment of a new director, the Law on Operational Activities was amended to set out a clear procedure and responsibility for providing intelligence information, a decision was made to finalize the lustration process. At the President's initiative, Baltic defense plans were included in the new NATO concept, which reinforced international security of the country. A new commander-in-chief of the armed forces was designated, and new Lithuanian national military defense plans are on the way.

Foreign policy, according to the President, must serve the interests of the people. The economic downturn and the financial crisis called for immediate solutions to help attract new investment, enter new markets in the neighboring countries, and ensure economic and energy security. Reaching out for these goals, the President made 26 working visits abroad. In turn, Lithuania was visited, at the President's invitation, by the leaders of NATO, the European Parliament and the European Commission, the new President of the European Council, the presidents of Finland, Slovenia, Poland, Estonia and Latvia, and 40 high-level foreign officials. By making a special focus on cooperation with the EU institutions and among the Baltic and Nordic countries, the President succeeded in having the elimination of Lithuania's and other Baltic States' energy isolation placed among the EU priorities: the EU allocated 175 million euros for the construction of a power bridge to Sweden. Lithuania also managed to secure support from the European Commission for its aspiration to receive financial assistance to build a gas line connecting Lithuania and Poland and to ensure that financial allocations for the supervision of the closure of the Ignalina NPP and for the construction of power and railway links with the rest of Europe were included in the EU's new financial perspective. The President's efforts also contributed to the setting-up of European and Euroatlantic agencies in Lithuania: the European Institute for Gender Equality recently opened in Vilnius and NATO Energy Security Centre to be opened in the future. Furthermore, the President received official assurances from Luxembourg's leaders about future investments in renewable energy in Lithuania. The new stage of bilateral relations with the neighboring countries, Russia and Belarus, built on a constructive dialogue started bearing fruit: investigation of the January 13 case broke the deadlock, investment opportunities were opened up in Belarus, and business climate in Russia was improved.

The President sees the driving force of a faster recovery of the country in creative, educated and inventive people. Education and culture was recognized as the key areas in the development of the state: at the President's initiative, policy guidelines for culture were developed for the first time in the twenty years of restored independence, to guarantee access to culture for all people - not only in major towns but also in regions. Other accomplishments include the correction of mistakes made in carrying out the education reform, success in guaranteeing lower interest rates on student loans, signs of recovery of applied science, accelerated establishment of science, studies and business valleys.

To promote public confidence in the government, the President worked towards enhanced democracy and transparency in the political system. At the President's demand, the rules for financing political parties were changed and an opportunity for independent candidates to stand at municipal elections was created. The President also advocated the direct election of mayors. The President's dynamic and open way of cooperating with the Seimas and the Government improved the quality of the legislative process: 502 laws were signed, 8 laws vetoed, 34 legal acts initiated, 28 of which were adopted.

Over the year, the President received 11,370 letters from private individuals. The issues raised in the letters were discussed both in house and during the President's working visits to Lithuania's regions. Over the time in question, the President visited 6 regions: Visaginas - to discuss problems encountered by the local community of the Ignalina NPP region, Alytus - to explore possibilities for reducing unemployment and promoting job creation, the south-western district of Suvalkija - to strengthen local communities, Kazokiškės - to look into waste management issues, Kaunas - to address problems in local self-government, and Biržai - to discuss the adaptation of heritage sites for tourism.