Algirdas Brazauskas, 1st president of Lithuanian after independence, dies aged 77

Lithuania’s former president Brazauskas dies at 77

VILNIUS, Lithuania — The wife of Lithuania’s first post-independent president, Algirdas Brazauskas, says her husband has died.

Kristina Brazauskiene says the 77-year-old Brazauskas died at home Saturday after suffering from prostate cancer .

Brazauskas became the Baltic republic’s president after it regained independence following five decades of Soviet occupation.

He had formerly been a leader of the Lithuanian Communist Party, but gained popularity by challenging the Kremlin with demands for more political and economic freedom in late 1980s.

Brazauskas is survived by his wife and two daughters.