Lithuanian Prime Minister Sinkevičius faces dissertation plagiarism probe

Lithuanian Prime Minister M. Sinkevičius is under investigation for alleged plagiarism in his 2015 doctoral dissertation. The Academic Ethics and Procedures Control Service received a complaint and forwarded it to the ISM University of Management and Economics, where the university’s Ethics Committee will decide within ten calendar days whether to open a formal inquiry.

University rector D. Misiūnas said the dissertation was defended publicly, complied with the rules in force at the time, and that the investigation will follow the university’s established procedures. Critics on social media have highlighted passages that appear to be taken from other authors without attribution. The prime minister asserted that he wrote the work himself and expects any inquiry to conclude in his favour.

Sinkevičius earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Vilnius University (2007) and a law degree from Mykolas Romeris University (2008), followed by a master's in marketing and management (2009) before defending his doctorate at ISM.