Her decision had been widely expected. She is currently the small Baltic nation's most popular politician, according to opinion polls.

"I am ready to come back to Lithuania, if the Lithuanian people decide I am needed...therefore, I will part take in the elections for Lithuanian president," she told a news conference. The first round of the election is in May.

Opinion polls have shown she has a good chance of winning the first round outright.

Grybauskaite, 52, served as finance minister before joining the European Commission in 2004.

If she wins, she would have to resign her post with the EU Ccommission. In Lithuania, the president's main powers are in forming foreign policy and in suggesting changes to legislation.

Reuters