Naglis Puteikis


Naglis Puteikis is a Lithuanian politician and member of the Seimas.

Biography

Naglis Puteikis was born on 2 September 1964 in Vilnius. In 1984, he graduated from the Faculty of History at Vilnius University and worked with preservation of historical heritage. Puteikis headed the Inspectorate of Cultural Heritage and, later, the Department for Protection of Cultural Valuables.
Puteikis joined Homeland Union in 1996. In 1997, he briefly served on the Seventh Seimas, having been elected through the party's electoral list in 1996, but not initially taking his seat in the parliament. Between 1997 and 2001 he served on the Council of Klaipėda City Municipality. Puteikis again served on the parliament between 2011 and 2012. In the elections in 2012 he was elected to the Seimas in the single-seat constituency of Danė.
In 2014, Puteikis left the Homeland Union, criticizing the party on a number of policy issues, including its support for incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaitė in the elections in 2014. He challenged the President in the 2014 election, receiving 9.37% of the votes and coming in 4th. Puteikis joined Lithuanian Centre Party in 2016 and was appointed its chairman. He announced his intentions to participate in the elections to the Seimas later the same year together with TV producer and personality Kristupas Krivickas. Although their coalition failed to clear the 7% threshold for Seimas seats in the nationwide constituency, Puteikis was elected to the parliament in the single-member constituency of Danė in Klaipėda.
In November 2018, Puteikis registered as a candidate for the 2019 Presidential Election.