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Mayor Matijošaitis’ ambition is to make Kaunas a city of innovation
Visvaldas Matijošaitis is a Lithuanian politician and the current mayor of Kaunas. He has started his mayoral term of office as the first directly elected mayor of Kaunas in 2015, and in 2019, he was re-elected as the mayor. He is the leader of the Public Movement “United Kaunas”.
Before becoming mayor of Kaunas, Matijošaitis was Member of the Kaunas City Council and President of the Association “Žalgiris Fund“, a fund with a 5-years mission to promote the physical and mental health of society and the solidarity of twinned nations, Latvian and Lithuanian, through basketball.
In 2019, the Japanese government announced that they awarded Matijošaitis with the Order of the Rising Sun with Golden Rays and Rosette. This honourable award is conferred for the merits of strengthening mutual understanding by fostering the memory of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, and promoting interregional cooperation between Japan and Lithuania. Mayor of Kaunas was awarded because of his contribution to the consolidation of friendship between the two countries.
Since the beginning of his mayoral term, Matijošaitis has been dedicated to making the city of Kaunas a greener and better city for its citizens. He started many projects with strong focus on ecology and sustainability. His ambition is to make Kaunas a city of innovation that will attract many people and become a great city for everyone.
He wants to implement a Sustainable Mobility Plan in the city to create a convenient infrastructure for moving around the city without cars.
Mayor of Kaunas has also been creating pedestrian and bicycle paths but also renewing the public transport network, which motivates and encourages people to switch to greener transport options. He is always working on making more green spaces and parks in the city, where citizens can spend their free time in a healthy environment. (photo Kas vyksta Kaune / Rokas Tenys)
