An important figure in Lithuania’s drive for independence after World War One, Smetona was elected the first president of the young republic by the State Council in April 1920 and stayed in the post for one year. In 1926, however, he led a military coup and headed a nationalist dictatorship until 1940. Following the Soviet occupation of the country, Smetona fled the country, initially to Germany and eventually ending up in the United States. He was killed in a house fire in 1944.