I don't subscribe to that school of thought that leadership can be altogether defined by gender.

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.

We do not have many women leaders in the world. But if you look at the current examples, most of those few female leaders that we have today lead their countries under the pressure of difficult political and economic circumstances. They all posses strong personalities and have real political influence on the domestic and international scene.

I ran for president because I wanted to help Lithuania and its people during a difficult time. My country was on the very edge of an economic crisis, and people were disappointed by the economic situation and the political elite. We all needed change and motivation to consolidate our efforts in order to overcome the difficulties.

If women decide that their mission, their political career, balances out what they have to give up, they can be and are equally successful as men.

The examples of female success stories are important on the global scale, as they help to disseminate the idea of gender equality and to spread the roots for the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and democratic values among different cultures, societies and traditions.

Lithuania is a small country, so our contribution would not be that large. We are not afraid of our responsibility. We receive 25 percent of our national budget from the European Union. We understand the value of solidarity.