Historical personalities of the Bank of Lithuania. Zigmas Starkus

2 October 2022, marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Bank of Lithuania and the first money — the litas. The establishment of the Issuing Bank of Lithuania, the issuance of litas banknotes, and the creation of the national monetary system is an event of epochal significance, as it was done for the first time in the history of the state of Lithuania. It is a great opportunity to remember the first bankers of independent Lithuania, people whose activities, patriotic feelings, and decisive decisions made it possible for Lithuania to become a modern, economically independent state. In this article, we present a long-term employee of the Bank of Lithuania, the last Deputy Governor of the Bank, Zigmas Starkus.
 
He was born on 15 October 1892 in Rudamina (Seiniai d.). The Starkus family was originally called Starkevičius and only later changed their name. The father came from nobility, and all seven children graduated from school. 
Starkus studied at Rudamina Primary School and Marijampole Gymnasium. In 1912, he joined the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Moscow to study earth sciences. He made money by serving as a tram conductor. He was active in the Society of Lithuanian Ateitis Federation Students in Moscow. In 1917, he acquired the speciality of an agronomist. 

After returning to Lithuania in 1918, he was actively involved in institution-building activities. That same year, at the age of 26, he became Deputy Minister of the Interior. He joined the Christian Democratic Party of Lithuania, later contributed to the drafting of municipal laws, and started working at the Ministry of Agriculture. Elected to the Constituent Seimas, he was later also elected to all other Seimas’ of the Republic of Lithuania. He was Minister of the Interior since 1924. He resigned from this position and was in charge of state control since 1925. 

In 1926, Starkus was elected Member of the Board of the Bank of Llithuania, and worked for a full term (until 1929). He was tasked with curating important areas — money issue, regulation of bank funds and reserve funds, operations of the State Treasury and savings banks, as well as the work of the legal service. He was appointed a member of the Lithuanian Council in 1929 and worked until 1935. That year he returned to the Bank of Lithuania. 

Until 27 February 1940, Starkus worked as Director of the Bank of Lithuania, later he was appointed Deputy Governor, and in September of that same year — Temporary Manager. Until the occupation, in addition to these positions, he was also a member of the Association of Lithuanian Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Crafts, he was appointed to the Lithuanian Economic Council. He was even offered the post of Minister of Finance, but Starkus refused. 

On 10 October 1940, Starkus was dismissed from the position of Temporary Manager and temporarily appointed Head of the Monetary Circulation Sector of the Republic of Lithuania Office of the State Bank of the USSR. 

On 14 June 1941, the NKVD arrested Starkus and his family (his wife Uršulė and four children). He was accused of belonging to the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party, the Catholic Action Centre, and serving in the State Council. The family was exiled and they were all separated from each other. His son Kęstutis died in exile at the age of 17, and Starkus (by the way, along with another Member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, Vitas Statkus) was exiled near the Sosva River, near Gari (Sverdlovsk d., Russia). Here he had to fell the forest and endure other hard labour. In addition, Starkus was tortured and starved. He fell ill with myocarditis, and avitaminosis, and became unfit for work. He was found guilty on 1 March 1942 and shot on 25 August. 

After leaving the camp, Starkus’ wife searched for her husband for a long time, and after learning the truth many years later, fought for some sort of rehabilitation. Unfortunately, it was not granted even after Stalin’s death.