Pastor and writer who headed Latvia's pro-German government of 1919
"Not clever speeches or treaties but force decides a nation's fate," he declared at his 1924 treason trial.
A leading Latvian novelist and Lutheran pastor, he headed the pro-German government backed by von der Goltz after the Liepāja coup of 1919. His regime fell after Cēsis, he fled to Germany and, returning in 1924, was tried for treason and expelled.
Activities and affiliations
-
1906–1918
Evangelical Lutheran Church in RussiaPastor of the Matīši, Kalsnava and Vietalva parishes
Religion -
1917–
Literature and arts
-
1919
Latvia state institutionsPrime Minister of the pro-German government
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1890–1899Studied theology at the University of Dorpat (Tartu)
- 1903–1906Edited and published the journal Austrums in Cēsis
- 1906–1918Lutheran pastor in the Matīši, Kalsnava and Vietalva parishes
- 1917Co-founded the Latvian Farmers' Union, member of its board
- 1919.05–06Prime Minister of the pro-German provisional government
- 1924Convicted of treason, then expelled by presidential pardon
- 1926–1930Pastor of a German congregation in Altstadt, East Prussia
Related historical events
- 1905–1907The Revolution of 1905Opponent of the 1905 RevolutionHe opposed the 1905 Revolution and took a conservative line of cooperation with Baltic German landowners.
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionHead of Latvia’s pro-German government in 1919Became head of the pro-German government backed by von der Goltz on 10 May 1919 after the Liepāja coup, and fled to Germany when the regime collapsed after Cēsis in June.
- 1918.11–1920.10Baltic wars of independence and border settlementsHead of Latvia’s pro-German government in 1919Became head of the pro-German government backed by von der Goltz on 10 May 1919 after the Liepāja coup, and fled to Germany when the regime collapsed after Cēsis in June.
Revolution and independence wars
A Lutheran pastor and one of the leading novelists of Latvian literature, he opposed the revolution of 1905 and took a conservative line of cooperation with the Baltic German landowners. After the Liepāja coup of 16 April 1919 drove out the Ulmanis government he became head of a government backed by von der Goltz on 10 May, and entered Riga when the German formations retook it on 22 May. His regime collapsed when the Landeswehr was beaten by the Estonians at Cēsis in June and Ulmanis returned under Allied mediation in July. He fled to Germany, returned to Latvia in 1924, was tried for treason and expelled. He died in Riga in 1942. In Latvia his name long served as a synonym for 'traitor', and his standing in literary history diverges from his standing in political history.