Lieutenant General  Valdas Tutkus

Born 27 December 1960

23.11.2007 According to the decree of the President of Lithuania on promotion of officers to higher ranks Chief of Defence of the Lithuanian Armed Forces General Major Valdas TUTKUS was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General.

Valdas TUTKUS was advanced to the rank of Major General on 30 June 2004, and was assigned as Chief of Defence, Lithuanian Armed Forces. Prior to assuming his current post, he served as Commander of the Lithuanian Land Forces (from 13 August 2001). He was promoted to this post from his position as Lithuanian Military Representative to NATO, the EU, the WEU, and Defence Attaché to Belgium – the one he held since 1999. TUTKUS has been consistently moving up military ranks during a career of service that spans nearly two decades. He began his career as a 2nd Lieutenant in a Motorised Infantry Battalion in 1982 after graduating from the Tashkent Higher Military Infantry School. In 1984, he achieved the rank of 1st Lieutenant and as a company commander he served in Afghanistan (1983-85). This tour of duty was followed by promotions to Captain and Major at three-year intervals. By 1991, TUTKUS withdrew from service in the Armed Forces of the USSR and became a founding member of the modern Lithuanian Armed Forces.

As a Lieutenant Colonel in the Lithuanian Army, he served as a Chief of Staff for both a Training Unit and the Iron Wolf Rapid Reaction Brigade. After one year, he began working at the Ministry of Defence as a Chief of Joint Staff and then First Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces in 1994. This post coincided with his promotion to the rank of Colonel. In 1996, TUTKUS became Deputy Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. In 2001 he was advanced to Brigadier General. 

During his career he has attended both the Frunze Military Academy (1988-91) and the NATO Defence College in Rome (1995-96). 

Lieutenant General TUTKUS' personal decorations include: Commemorative Badge to mark Russian Troops Withdrawal from Lithuania, Honour Award for Merits to National Defence System, Honour Award Iron Wolf, National Defence System level Medal of Merit, Officer Cross of Vytautas the Great Order, National Defence Minister’s Letters of Merit and presents.

Lieutenant General TUTKUS is married to Lilija, and has a son, Vytautas.