She was elected to the position of the Prime Minister of the first government on 17 March by the Supreme Council of Lithuania and immediately faced the problems brought on by an economic embargo set in place by Mikhail Gorbachev in an attempt to force Lithuania back under control of the crumbling USSR.
Den 17 mars 1990 valdes hon till landets premiärminister av Litauens högsta råd och fick direkt möta problemen som orsakades av Michail Gorbatjovs ekonomiska embargo i ett försök att tvinga tillbaka Litauen till Sovjets kontroll.