[5] Lithuania, breaking away from the Soviet Union, stressed that it was simply re-establishing the independent state that existed between the world wars and that the Act never lost its legal power.

After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Germany conceived the geopolitical strategy of Mitteleuropa – a regional network of puppet states that would serve as a buffer zone – and agreed to allow the Vilnius Conference, hoping that it would proclaim that the Lithuanian nation wanted to detach itself from Russia and establish a closer relationship with Germany.

The first draft, demanded by chancellor Georg von Hertling, was prepared by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 1.

The delegation's members were Antanas Smetona, Steponas Kairys, Vladas Mironas, Jurgis Šaulys, Petras Klimas and Aleksandras Stulginskis.

The German representative, Kurt von Lersner, insisted that not one word be changed in the agreed-upon text and that all the Council members sign the document.

[14] The Act of December 11 pronounced Lithuania's independence, but also asked the German government for protection (clause 2) and called for "a firm and permanent alliance" with Germany.

[10] Since the Act specified that the alliance was to be formed based on conventions concerning military affairs, transportation, customs, and currency, many Lithuanians argued that the Council had overstepped its authority: the September resolution adopted by the Vilnius Conference clearly demanded that a constituent assembly decide these crucial matters of state.

[15] Another important development was the statement that democratic principles would be the basis of the new state's governance,[14] something that was declared by the Vilnius Conference, but omitted in the Act of December 11.

[17] Four members – Mykolas Biržiška, Steponas Kairys, Stanisław Narutowicz and Jonas Vileišis – resigned from the Council in protest.

[18] Germany failed to recognize Lithuania as an independent state, and the Lithuanian delegation was not invited to the Brest-Litovsk negotiations that started on December 22, 1917, between the Central Powers and Russia in order to settle territorial claims.

On the next day, February 16, 1918, at 12:30 pm, all twenty Council members met in the room of the Lithuanian Committee for Support of the War Victims, at 30 Didžioji Street in Vilnius.

On February 18, the text was reprinted in German newspapers, including Das Neue Litauen, Vossische Zeitung, Tägliche Rundschau [de] and Kreuzzeitung.

[17] This situation changed when the German Revolution started and Germany lost the war in the fall of 1918 – it was no longer in a position to dictate terms.

The functions of government were entrusted to a three-member presidium, and Augustinas Voldemaras was invited to form the first Cabinet of Ministers of Lithuania.

[22] The duplicate was used in day-to-day business and was stored in the president's archives until June 15, 1940, the day when Lithuania received an ultimatum from the Soviet Union and lost its independence.

[22] In 2017, Lithuanian businessman Darius Mockus offered a 1-million-Euro reward to anyone who could find the original document and give it to the State of Lithuania.

[24] On March 29, 2017, Vytautas Magnus University professor Liudas Mažylis announced he had found the original document in the Federal Foreign Office Political Archive in Berlin, Germany, hand-written in the Lithuanian language and signed by the twenty.

[28][29] On October 7, 2017, Lithuania Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius and Germany Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel signed an agreement that the original Act of Independence will be displayed for five years in the House of the Signatories where it was originally signed, making it the main symbol of the Lithuania's Centenary of the Restoration of the State celebrations.

[30] On December 22, 2017, experts from the Lithuanian Police Forensic Research Center after a thorough analysis announced that the hand-written act was written by one of the signatories Jurgis Šaulys hand.

[31][32] On December 22, 2017, yet another version of the Act of Independence of Lithuania was found by historian Darius Antanavičius in the Vatican Secret Archives that was sent to the Holy See.

This version of the Act was printed in German language and signed by Antanas Smetona, Jonas Vileišis, Jurgis Šaulys and Justinas Staugaitis.

Jonas Vileišis served in the Seimas and as mayor of Kaunas, temporary capital of Lithuania;[35] Saliamonas Banaitis was involved in finance, opening several banks.

Jonas Basanavičius, chairman of the Council of Lithuania, returned to an academic life, pursuing his research in Lithuanian culture and folklore.

[48] In this respect the Council deviated from the resolution adopted by the Vilnius Conference which called for establishment (sudaryti) of a Lithuanian state.

The 2014 commemoration included laying flowers at the signatories’ graves in Rasos Cemetery, awarding the Lithuanian National Prize, the hoisting of the three Baltic States’s flags at Daukantas Square, dedicated concerts at Cathedral Square in Vilnius and at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society hall, and the lighting of 16 fires along Gediminas Avenue.

The Jonas Basanavičius Prize is bestowed for distinguished work within the previous five years in the fields of ethnic and cultural studies.