 From 1988 to 1990, he was the First Deputy Minister of Social Security and Labour, until the Lithuanian SSR declared independence in March 1990 as the Republic of Lithuania.Following independence, Stankevičius, who had been a member of the Communist Party of Lithuania, joined its successor party, the Democratic Labour Party.From September 1993 to July 1994, he served as Minister of Social Security and Labour under Prime Minister Adolfas Šleževičius.