Steponas Kairys was among the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania on 16 February 1918. An engineer by training and a social democrat by conviction, he navigated the turbulent transition of his homeland from Imperial Russia through various occupations to eventual statehood, later spending his final years in exile in the United States.
Engineering and Early Political Involvement
Born in 1879 in Užunvėžiai, Kairys attended Šiauliai Gymnasium before graduating from the Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology. His early academic career involved persistent friction with authorities over student protests. Following his graduation, he contributed to railroad construction projects across the Samara and Kursk regions. By 1912, he had returned to Lithuania, focusing on Vilnius municipal water supply and sanitation infrastructure. Kairys entered the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party in 1900, ascending to its central committee within a year. His political advocacy included publishing early Lithuanian materials on the Japanese social system and providing guidance to socialists serving in the Russian Duma.
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Kairys participated in the Great Seimas of Vilnius in 1905, advocating for Lithuanian autonomy. During the German occupation in 1917, he secured a seat on the Council of Lithuania. His tenure on the council proved volatile; he temporarily withdrew in January 1918 before returning to sign the declaration of independence. He later resigned permanently from the body in 1918, citing opposition to the election of Mindaugas II as King of Lithuania. Despite this, he remained active, serving as a member of the Seimas and the Constituent Assembly until the 1926 coup d'état placed him in the political opposition.
Exile and Humanitarian Efforts
In 1943, Kairys assumed the chairmanship of the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania, an organization formed following the 1940 Soviet invasion. Under pressure from the Gestapo, he assumed the alias Juozas Kaminskas and relocated to Germany before settling in the United States in 1951. During the war, he and his wife, Ona Kairiene, sheltered a Jewish child, Anusė Keilsonaitė, in their home. This act earned him recognition as Righteous Among the Nations in 2005. He died in Brooklyn in 1964 and was later reinterred at the Petrašiūnai Cemetery in Kaunas.
Fast facts
- Born: 1879, Užunvėžiai
- Died: 1964, Brooklyn
- Education: Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology
- Political Party: Lithuanian Social Democratic Party
- Key Event: Signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania, 1918
- Award: Righteous Among the Nations, 2005
- Burial: Petrašiūnai Cemetery
- Notable Role: Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania
Questions readers ask
What was Steponas Kairys's profession?
He was a trained engineer who worked on water supply and sanitation projects in Vilnius, and later served as a faculty member at Vytautas Magnus University.
Why is he recognized as Righteous Among the Nations?
In 1942, he and his wife sheltered a Jewish girl, Anusė Keilsonaitė, from the Vilna Ghetto, risking their lives to ensure her safety.
Achievements
- Righteous Among the Nations — 2005
- Worked as engineer and politician
- Educated at Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology and Šiauliai Gymnasium
