A Conversation with Gabrielius Landsbergis

Nov 4

Listen to the full episode:

Time Codes:
4:00 Childhood with a front-row seat to history
8:15 Freedom and bedroom slippers
9:15 U.S. centrality to the idea of democracy
10:30 Watching Batman, seeing the world
12:07 Values are key to future outcomes
13:40 Ukraine: A live experiment on a living nation
15:25 The West is being challenged everywhere
16:40 China’s growing leverage
17:15 America, Europe and the trust that’s being lost
19:25 Putin is playing his own game
21:45 U.S. checks and balances in question
23:17 With damage to the U.S.’s image, China only gains
27:35 A quietness across the U.S. opposition
29:20 Europe cares; Europe wants to help
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Our values will define our future

Lithuanian diplomat and politician Gabrielius Landsbergis has been a witness to history since his birth in Soviet-occupied Lithuania in 1982. And while at first, he was a spectator, he has since become a very active protagonist. Among his career highlights so far, he has been a Member of the European Parliament and the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. Most recently, he served as Lithuania’s foreign minister, from 2020-2024.

Gabrielius’ unique window into the forces of occupation, freedom, sovereignty, and democracy began in his childhood. His grandfather, Vytautas Landsbergis Sr., is often referred to as the “father of modern Lithuania,” and he played a key role in the country regaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Gabrielius’ parents have been deeply involved in the country’s cultural sphere, with his father working as a writer, and film and theater director, and his mother as an educator and specialist in Lithuanian folklore.

As a child, Gabrielius remembers sitting on his parents’ shoulders, watching his grandfather address political rallies and crowds during the country’s drive for independence. He also recalls the role the United States played in Lithuania regaining its sovereignty. including the speech his grandfather gave to a special session of the U.S. Senate. He says America was “at the center of” Lithuania’s understanding of the concept of freedom.

It's against this backdrop that Gabrielius has carved out his own impressive role, helping Lithuania punch above its weight on the international stage. He has been an outspoken supporter of the transatlantic alliance, NATO, Ukraine, the EU and Taiwan. Whatever cause he is advocating for, his position is always underpinned by his values, for the simple reason, as he puts it, that “in the end, [this values-based approach] is what will define whether we retain our freedom or not.”

From his unique vantage point, Gabrielius has grown increasingly worried over the past few years about where the world is headed. This includes the trajectory of both the U.S., and the West more broadly. In our conversation, he talks candidly about the West being aggressively challenged by Russia and China, as well as democratic norms that are under increasing pressure in the U.S. The common thread is the threat to all kinds of freedoms, which are too often taken for granted. Left undefended, these can slip away before we realize they’re even gone.

That’s why Gabrielius argues that we can’t give in to isolation and hopelessness. Europeans are extremely concerned about what’s happening in the U.S., but they’re not turning away. Instead, we need to keep our alliances alive. We need to keep working together at all levels to make sure we’re “not alone on either side of the Atlantic.”