Dissatisfied with the left-wing government of President Kazys Grinius, Voldemaras and fellow nationalist Antanas Smetona supported the military coup d'état in December 1926 and he was appointed as the prime minister for a second time.

A brilliant orator, Voldemaras represented the radical wing of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union that was increasingly critical of the more moderate policies of President Smetona.

[1] Voldemaras was born on 16 April 1883 in Dysna village in what is now Ignalina district municipality, Lithuania (then part of the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire).

[4][5] In 1909, Voldemaras graduated in History and Philosophy at the Saint Petersburg Imperial University and, in 1910, received his Master's Degree and was awarded a gold medal for his dissertation.

One of the many problems facing the council was the lack of unity among Lithuanian organizations — several were claiming to represent Lithuania on the international stage.

In September 1918, Voldemaras and Smetona participated in a conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, helping to unite the organizations behind the Council of Lithuania.

Voldemaras's first stated priority was to ensure the internal stability of the country: he hoped that a statement of neutrality would deter foreign interference for a time.

Nevertheless, On 23 November he signed the order creating the Lithuanian armed forces and appointed General Kyprian Kandratovich as Deputy Minister of Defense.

Kondratovich was an ethnic Belarusian viewed with suspicion by many, failed to take measures to organize the defense of the country and proposed to move the government to Grodno when Vilnius was threatened by a Soviet advance.

Their stated purpose of the trip was to secure a badly needed loan from Germany and to participate in the Versailles Peace Conference, but the departure generated outrage in Lithuania, where Voldemaras was seen as fleeing the Soviet advance.

Furious with these events, Voldemaras nevertheless continued to serve as Minister of Foreign affairs and stayed in Versailles representing Lithuania.

He saw Grinius as too lenient on minority rights and advocated for a stronger, more dictatorial government like the fascist regimes that were gaining power in much of Europe at the time.

The coup took place on 17 December, deposing Grinius and installing Smetona as the president for a second time and Voldemaras as prime minister.

To assuage public opinion in both Lithuania and the outside world, Grinius agreed to appoint Voldemaras as the prime minister on condition that he uphold the constitution of 1922.

His personality and oratory skills attracted younger nationalist officers, who were favorably impressed by the emerging fascism, and displeased with what they perceived as Smetona's more moderate course.

The outpouring of public and international support made it impossible for Smetona to dismiss Voldemaras, but pushed the latter to get even more involved with Geležinis Vilkas.

[6] On 19 September 1929, while attending a meeting of the League of Nations, Voldemaras was ousted by President Smetona after the cabinet resigned.

Several officers sympathetic to Voldemaras and associated with Geležinis Vilkas attempted to replace Smetona, but the coup did not have widespread support and was unsuccessful.

While Voldemaras always introduced her as his wife, the status of their relationship was not completely clear and generated some amount of controversy in Lithuania, particularly when the couple visited the Vatican in 1927.