Leonas Prapuolenis (9 June 1913 – 23 July 1972) was a Lithuanian public figure, commander and leader of the June Uprising of 1941 in Lithuania. Born to a family of affluent farmers in Suvalkija, Prapuolenis was an active member of the Ateitininkai Catholic youth movement and a vocal opponent of the authoritarian regime of President Antanas Smetona. Therefore, he faced difficulties completing his education. For organizing a student strike to demand democracy, he was expelled from the Klaipėda Commerce Institute and given a four-year prison sentence in December 1938. However, he was allowed to resume his studies due to the changing political situation in the aftermath of the German ultimatum to Lithuania of March 1939.