From day one, my mantra has been - and will continue to be - that as a government we were there to serve the people, not the other way around.

I am happy and proud that during one year of presidency, my initiatives have been strongly supported by the people and society and we have launched the process of vitally important state reforms.

Traditionally, women have a lot of different roles in society. It is very difficult to balance all these roles and at the same time to compete with men. A leading, successful woman has to put in much bigger efforts to be more competent and faster, more dynamic and organized, than a successful man.

If there were more women heads of state in the world, the world would be more peaceful and better focused on the improvement of the overall quality of life and welfare.

For a small open economy that trades mostly with the euro zone it makes absolute sense to be part of the currency union. Our currency has already pegged to the euro since 2002. We don't have an independent monetary policy. We are regulated by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, but we are not able to reap all the profits. Our businesses want to save the transaction costs.

During my election campaign I was not giving out empty promises, but invited every member of society to join the efforts to work for a better life in Lithuania.

I am a person of action. If I see I can bring a positive change, I will go for it, never mind that something might be hard to achieve.