Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics
Zigfrīds Anna MeierovicsLatvia's first foreign minister, who won international recognition for its independence
One of the most influential statesmen and diplomats of the early Latvian Republic. As its first foreign minister he drove the 1920 peace treaty with Soviet Russia, de jure recognition and League of Nations admission; he died in a car crash in 1925.
Latvia's first foreign minister, he won de facto British recognition in 1918, the Riga peace of 1920, and de jure Allied recognition and League membership in 1921. He also served as prime minister and died in a road accident in 1925 at thirty-eight.
Career timeline
- 1917Co-founder of the Latvian Farmers' Union; head of the Vidzeme Land Council's financial division
- 1918Appointed Latvia's first foreign minister
- 1920Concluded the Riga peace treaty with Soviet Russia
- 1921Secured de jure Allied recognition and League of Nations membership
- 1921–1923Served as prime minister
- 1923–1924Served a second term as prime minister