Virgilijus Čepaitis

Virgilijus Juozas Čepaitis (November 8, 1937 in Šakiai, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian publisher and translator, best known for his involvement in Sąjūdis, independence movement. He was the Executive Secretary of Sąjūdis and member of the Initiative Group of that organisation. He was also a signatory of Declaration of the Restoration of Independence of Lithuania on March 11, 1990.

In 1961 Čepaitis was awarded a Diploma of Moscow Institute of Literature. Čepaitis is married with Auksuolė Čepaitienė. They have three children and live in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Positions held

*1958–1988 – free-lance translator;
*1988–1989 – the chief-editor of the film company "ARS";
*1989–1990 – the executive secretary of the Sąjūdis Movement;
*1990–1992 – Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Committee for Civil Rights and Ethnic Minorities;
*Chairman of the Sąjūdis faction, the member of the Lithuanian delegation in the negotiations with Russia in 1990–1991. Head of the Lithuanian delegation in the non-official negotiations with the Soviet Union in Hague, organised by De Burght consultations, 1991;
*1993–1996 – the chief-editor of the publishing company "Litera";
*1996–2001 – the director of the publishing company "Tvermė".
*Since 2001 – the owner of the publishing company "Librum"

Social and political positions

*Since 1968 – member of the Lithuanian Writers Union;
*1988 – member of the Initiative Group of the Lithuanian Reform Movement (Sąjūdis);
*1988–1990 – member of the Sąjūdis' Seimas Council;
*1989–1994 – Chairman of the Lithuania-Poland Association;
*1990–1992 – Chairman of the Independence Party;
*1990–1992 – Chairman of Stasys Šalkauskis Cultural Foundation;
*Since 2003 – member of Lithuanian Translators Union.
*Since 1993 – member of the Association of Signatories of the Independence Act

Literary Works

Čepaitis has translated 59 books, namely translations from English to Lithuanian (stories and plays of A. A. Milne, J. O'Neal, W. Saroyan, J. Thurber, T. Williams, etc); books from Lithuanian to Russian (novels and stories of Lithuanian writers J. Aputis, J. Avyžius, J. Baltušis, V. Bubnys, R. Granauskas, R. Lankauskas, J. Mikelinskas, Kazys Saja, Ieva Simonaitytė, V. Sirijos Gira, etc); books from Polish to Russian (stories and plays of T. Karpowicz, S. Lem, S. Mrozek, etc).

He is the author of a screenplay for the film "Virto ąžuolai (Oak-trees Fell)" (1976).

Awards

*The Medal of Lithuanian Independence (awarded on July 1, 2000)
*The Award of Commemoration of Lithuania's membership of NATO (awarded on July 25, 2002)