Dalia Grybauskaitė (1956 – , SFS 1992), is a Lithuanian politician and an alumna of the Georgetown School of Foreign service. She served as the eighth President of Lithuania, from 2009 to 2019. She was the country's first woman president and previously served as its finance minister and as European Union budget commissioner.
Shortly after Lithuania declared independence from the USSR in 1990, Grybauskaitė came to Georgetown and entered the School of Foreign Services's Special Programme for Senior Executives. Of her time at Georgetown, she has said, “While studying here I experienced real freedom. After the program I came back home with newly issued documents and with a better vision for my country in my heart.”
In 2013, Grybauskaitė was a commencement speaker at the School of Foreign Service and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.1
Grybauskaitė was a recipient of the 2024 Hillary Rodham Clinton Award from the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security (GIWPS).2, 3
- 1Eitan Sayag, "Lithuanian President Tells SFS Grads to Embrace Challenges," The Hoya, May 18, 2013. https://thehoya.com/lithuanian-president-tells-sfs-grads-to-embrace-challenges/
- 2
Georgetown Honors First Female Heads of State and Palestinian, Israeli Women Working for Peace, October 3, 2024. https://www.georgetown.edu/news/2024-hillary-clinton-awards-at-georgetown/
- 3
Kate Hwang, 2024 Annual Hillary Clinton Awards Honor Former Women Heads of State, Palestinian, Israeli Peacemakers, The Hoya, October 4, 2024. https://thehoya.com/news/2024-annual-hillary-clinton-awards-honor-former-women-heads-of-state-palestinian-israeli-peacemakers/
