Juozas Gediminas Baranauskas (30 March 1935 – 2 July 2021) was a Lithuanian TV anchor and politician who served as member of the Seimas.

Juozas Gediminas Baranauskas
Born(1935-03-30)30 March 1935
Kaunas, Lithuania
Died2 July 2021(2021-07-02) (aged 86)
Vilnius, Lithuania[1]
NationalityLithuanian
Occupation(s)TV anchor, politician

Biography

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Baranauskas was born in Kaunas, Lithuania on 30 March 1935.[2] In 1954 he started his studies at the Faculty of Law within Vilnius University. In his second year of studies, Baranauskas won the competition to become an announcer on the national radio.

In 1957, Baranauskas won the competition to become the first TV announcer on the newly established national TV station. Together with Gražina Bigelytė, he appeared on the very first national broadcast on 30 April 1957. At the time, there were only 32 TV sets in Lithuanian SSR to receive the broadcast, although the number increased to more than 1500 by the end of 1957.[3][4] Baranauskas worked for the national broadcaster for almost 40 years.

Baranauskas was a member of the Communist Party of Lithuania. After the independence, he joined the ranks of the Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania (LDDP) and, in the elections in 1992, was elected as the member of the Sixth Seimas in the single-seat constituency of Akmenė-Joniškis (39).[2]

Baranauskas died on 2 July 2021 aged 86.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Juozas Gediminas Baranauskas".
  2. ^ a b "Member of the Seimas 1992-1996". Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. 5 January 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  3. ^ Mikalauskaitė, Regina (14 November 2008). "Juozas Baranauskas: naktimis sapnuoju televiziją" [Juozas Baranauskas: at night, I dream about television]. Alfa.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Kuo gyvena pirmieji LTV diktoriai?". lrytas.lt (in Lithuanian). 30 April 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Mirė pirmasis LRT TELEVIZIJOS diktorius Juozas Baranauskas". lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). 2 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.