Taking the helm of the government at a difficult time in 1918 and again in 1919, Sleževičius has been credited with preparing Lithuania for the fights to come and for laying the foundations of the fledgling state.

His government introduced important changes aimed at normalizing the situation in Lithuania, but the reforms faced resistance from the Catholic clergy, military officers and the parliamentary opposition.

The resistance culminated in a military coup d'état in December 1926, which brought to power the authoritarian rule of Antanas Smetona.

Mykolas Sleževičius was born on 21 February 1882 in Drembliai village in Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire (now part of Raseiniai district municipality, Lithuania).

[2] While in Odessa, Sleževičius became politically involved, with Juozas Gabrys taking credit for converting him to the Lithuanian nationalist cause.

That same year, he represented Odessa Lithuanians in the Great Seimas of Vilnius and started contributing to the newspaper Lietuvos ūkininkas.

After receiving a law degree in 1907, Sleževičius returned to Lithuania and joined the Lithuanian Democratic Party (LDP).

In 1917, Sleževičius, together with Felicija Bortkevičienė and other allies, broke away from the LDP to form the Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party.

[4] In 1917, Sleževičius, together with Kazys Grinius, joined the presidium of the newly established Supreme Council of Lithuania in Russia, based in Voronezh.

[1] Sleževičius returned to Lithuania at a difficult time: the fledgling Lithuanian state with no significant armed forces was threatened by the approaching Bolshevik army and General Kyprian Kandratovich, who was the Deputy Minister of Defense, failed to take measures to organize the defense of the country and proposed to move the government to Grodno.

While refusing to assume dictatorship, Sleževičius agreed to take over as the prime minister, on the condition that his government be granted full legislative powers.

The council agreed and officially dissolved the cabinet of Voldemeras on 26 December 1918, after the resignation of its ministers, appointing Sleževičius in his stead.

on 8 January 1919, the German government communicated that its forces would cooperate with the Lithuanians in the fight against Bolsheviks, eventually pushing them back.

[6] Just two weeks later, Sleževičius was asked to lead the government again, which he accepted only on the condition that the Council of Lithuania elected a president to replace it as the collegial head of state.

The Council agreed, electing Smetona as the first President of Lithuania, prompting Prime Minister Pranas Dovydaitis to resign.

His coalition cabinet, the fourth in Lithuania, established a volunteer army, which became the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and took actions to thwart the aims of the Polish nationalist organization, the Polska Organizacja Wojskowa (POW).

His Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party (LSLDP) formed a block with the Peasant Union, another breakaway from LDP.

While initially maintaining the façade of constitutionality, Smetona dismissed the Third Seimas in April 1927, not calling for fresh elections for more than 9 years.

Already ill during the events, Sleževičius left to seek treatment abroad and did not return to work in the Seimas before its dissolution.

Sleževičius argued that resigning was the only way to avoid significant bloodshed and that he had not believed that the Christian Democrats would open the doors for authoritarian rule.