Grybauskaite emphasized that six months until the parliamentary elections it is important to have a minister who not a member of a political party but rather a professional with experience of the interior system, spokeswoman Daiva Ulbinaite told journalists.
Zilinskas, who is not affiliated with any political party, will replace Saulius Skvernelis who was removed from the post after announcing his plans of running for the parliament with the Peasant and Green Union.
Zilinskas was proposed for the post by the Order and Justice party, which has the portfolio of interior minister under the coalition agreement.
The minister-designate acquired a degree in history at the Vilnius University in 2002, completing his master's degree in law at the Mykolas Romeris University in 2013.
Zilinskas worked at the Police Department in 2001-2003 and the Interior Ministry in 2003-2006, with his duties focusing on international relations.
In the 2006-2009 period, he was the Lithuanian attache for the law-enforcement at the mission to the European Union (EU).
Upon return to Vilnius in November of 2009, he briefly served as adviser to Lithuania's police chief and then returned to the Interior Ministry.
Lithuania's interior minister-designate Tomas Zilinskas has pledged to continue the reforms in the police system and focus on security in the light of the migration crisis and terrorist attacks in Europe.
"Let me assure you that the reforms in the police system will continue," Zilinskas told journalists after meeting with President Dalia Grybauskaite on Wednesday morning, adding that the reforms should be "well-considered and not drastic."
"The president formulated professional tasks for state and public security in the aftermath of the developments in Paris and Brussels, as well as the migration situation. It is my goal to see relevant services ready to respond to challenges," said the minister-designate.
Zilinskas, 38, emphasized he was not a member of any political party and pledged to be independent of the ruling Order and Justice party that delegated him to the post.
