On Thursday, 39 members of the new Kaunas City Council, including Visvaldas Matijosaitis, the first Kaunas mayor elected directly, were sworn in.

Former Kaunas Mayor Andrius Kupcinskas did not attend the inaugural sitting.

The new mayor Matijosaitis, leader of the public election committee United Kaunas, was decorated with the mayoral regalia, he also received the City's Key.

Participants of the sitting were reminded that the mayor's chain of office is an exceptional insignia, binding the most important person of the city's government with the city's works, joys and sorrows. The City's Key is a symbol of the mayor's duty to defend the city's honour and interests of its interests.

In his turn, following an ancient ritual of the city, the new mayor gave Kaunas a traditional gift – a barrel of mead and a coin.

During his inaugural speech, Matijosaitis thanked the city's residents for their trust in him.

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