The physicist who walked Latvia out of the USSR and commanded the nights of the barricades
On the night of 20 January 1991, after Soviet special forces stormed Latvia's Interior Ministry, killing five, Godmanis telephoned Soviet interior minister Boris Pugo, who told him: 'I was not involved.'
A Latvian physicist turned politician, Godmanis earned his doctorate in solid-state physics and taught at the University of Latvia before joining the Latvian Popular Front in 1987. After the Front's victory in the 1990 Supreme Council elections, he became the first prime minister of a Latvia that had declared the restoration of its independence, and during the January 1991 barricades he coordinated the defense of strategic sites and personally telephoned Soviet interior minister Boris Pugo, who denied any involvement in the OMON attack. He returned as prime minister in 2007, steering Latvia through the global financial crisis until his resignation in 2009.
Career Timeline
- 1973–1988Lecturer at University of Latvia, researcher at Institute of Solid State Physics
- 1989–1990Deputy Chairman, Latvian Popular Front
- 1990–1993Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia
- 1998–1999Minister of Finance of Latvia
- 2006–2007Minister of the Interior of Latvia
- 2007–2009Prime Minister of Latvia