Juozas Vailokaitis (17 December 1880 – 2 August 1953) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest, member of the Seimas, banker, and industrialist.

He was then assigned as editor-in-chief of the Lithuanian-language Catholic weekly newspaper Šaltinis which became the most popular Lithuanian periodical of the time (its circulation reached 15,000 copies).

During World War I, he retreated to Russia where he organized the People's Union [lt] and published its weekly newspaper Vadas.

Vailokaitis and his brother Jonas owned 98% of Ūkio bankas which became the largest commercial bank in interwar Lithuania.

Using profits from the bank, Vailokaitis brothers established or bought several industrial enterprises, most successful of which were Palemonas (brickyard) and Metalas (metal factory), allowing them to accumulate substantial wealth.

Juozas Vailokaitis was born on 17 December 1880 in Pikžirniai [lt] near Sintautai to a family of affluent Lithuanian farmers.

[4] Vailokaitis spent about a year as a vicar in Kalvarija before he was tasked with editing the Lithuanian-language Catholic weekly newspaper Šaltinis.

[5] He edited the newspaper from November 1906 to September 1910 and from February 1912 to fall 1915 though he frequently had use names of others as editors due to government censorship.

[8] Vailokaitis was also involved with Žagrė (sokha), an agricultural cooperative in Marijampolė, where his brother Jonas worked as a bookkeeper.

[12] The company also accepted deposits and paid 4.5% to 5% interest, but it was not officially registered as a bank or a credit union.

[12] During World War I, Vailokaitis retreated to Russia, first to Moscow and later to Saint Petersburg, where he was active in the Lithuanian refugee community.

He worked with the union opening a printing press and publishing weekly Vadas, organizing evening courses for the illiterate, assisting Lithuanian refugees with getting proper identity documents and other paperwork.

[13][14] He established the Society of St. Paul for Lithuanian women who wanted to become nuns; they worked at the printing press.

[13] He attempted to revive the People's Union in Vilnius and organized a large concert to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Act of Independence of Lithuania on 16 February 1919.

[19] In 1919, Vailokaitis together with his brother Jonas, Mykolas Krupavičius, and Aleksandras Stulginskis worked to established the Farmers' Association.

[20] As a representative of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party, Vailokaitis was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania in April 1920.

[18] He actively participated in the parliamentary proceedings and spoke 127 times, most frequently on economic and financial issues (land reform, management of state land, taxes and custom duties, banking system, Lithuanian litas, limited liability companies) but also on other issues (Constitution of Lithuania, Vilnius conflict and relations with Poland, University of Lithuania).

They worked closely together, often sharing the top posts, but it is generally summarized that Juozas was more of a strategist while Jonas handled the execution.

[7] Brothers Vailokaitis amassed substantial wealth and were widely regarded as the richest men in interwar Lithuania.

[26] On 16 February 1919, Jonas Vailokaitis together with Aleksandras Stulginskis, Andrius Dubinskas [lt], and Pijus Grajauskas founded Ūkio bankas which became the largest commercial bank in interwar Lithuania.

[26][31] Using profits from the bank, Vailokaitis brothers established or bought several industrial enterprises, including Palemonas (brick), Metalas (metal), Maistas (food), Medis (lumber), Venta (lumber mill), Spėka (fish), Linas (flax), Eksimportas (import-export), Urmas (wholesale).

[32] Palemonas, established in 1922 in a suburb of Kaunas near a railway and a peatbog (which provided fuel), was the largest producer of bricks and tiles in Lithuania.

The factory produced agricultural machines and tools, chains, wire, nails, buckets, and other metal goods.

[36] Vailokaitis supported various charitable causes, mainly via Ūkio bankas: granting scholarships for about 200 students, providing funding for the Klaipėda Revolt, donating a 16-hectare (40-acre) plot of land to the newly established University of Lithuania.