Other events in Baltic States

The signatory of Lithuania's Independence Act, former prime minister and president of the Confederation of Industrialists, Bronislovas Lubys, was laid to rest in his hometown of Plunge on Wednesday.

Before his last journey home, Lubys was given another farewell from Seimas Speaker Irena Degutiene, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, colleagues, signatories at the Academy of Sciences where he was laid in state, informs LETA/ELTA.

On the way to Plunge, the funeral procession stopped in Jonava next to Achema, the main company of the Achemos Grupe owned by Lubys. The cortege was accompanied by the plant's emergency sirens.

In a farewell speech, Prime Minister Kubilius referred to Lubys as a personality and a key figure of public life. According to the prime minister, the late was a pivotal figure in business, politics and public life, the loss of who means an end of certain epoch. Lubys was obstinate, unresting, hard, but tolerant, Kubilius noted. He climbed a great number of mountains, overcome a lot of challenges, but did not manage to scale a small hill near Druskininkai, he said.

After the funeral service, a Holy Mass was celebrated at St John the Baptist Church in Plunge.

Lubys, aged 73, died from a heart attack when riding a bicycle in Druskininkai on Sunday.

As of August 2008, he was the richest Lithuanian, according to the Lithuanian magazine Veidas.

Lubys was a doctor in chemical sciences, associated professor, engineer, author of 47 inventions and numerous scientific and media articles.

He was a member of the Supreme Council-Reconstituent Seimas, signatory of the March 11 Independence Act.

After Lithuania re-established its independence, Lubys served as prime minister in 1992 and 1993.