 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.Prunskienė flew to countries all over the world, including the United States, to try to gain support for negotiations with Gorbachev about the embargo through such committees as the Helsinki Commission.After nine months in office, Prunskienė resigned and later headed the Department of Agriculture in Lithuania.