Algirdas Brazauskas, who served as president of Lithuania from 1993-98 and later as prime minister, died Saturday at the age of 77 after a long battle with cancer, local media reported.
Current President Dalia Grybauskaite remembered Brazauskas as an upstanding person and forward-looking politician who led the country during a difficult time, dpa reported.
After Lithuania gained independence from the Soviet Union, Brazauskas was elected president in the first free elections in 1993. A Social Democrat, he served as prime minister from 2001-06.