Latvia's prime minister in the war of independence, later dictator after the 1934 coup
On the day of the occupation his radio address ordered no resistance: "I will remain in my place and you remain in yours."
Prime minister of Latvia's provisional government from November 1918, he survived the Soviet army, a German coup and Bermondt's army in turn and led the Riga peace and land reform of 1920. He set up a dictatorship by coup in 1934 and, deported by the Soviets in 1940, died in prison in 1942.
Activities and affiliations
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1918–1940
Latvia state institutionsPrime Minister, PresidentMain
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1918.11First prime minister of Latvia's provisional government
- 1920Led the Riga peace treaty and land reform
- 1918–1934Farmers' Union leader; prime minister and foreign minister several times
- 1934.05Bloodless coup with army and Aizsargi backing
- 1936.04Also state president, styled himself leader of the people
- 1939.10Signed treaty allowing Soviet bases
- 1940.07Forced from office and deported after Soviet occupation
- 1942Died in Krasnovodsk prison
Related historical events
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionLatvian prime minister during the independence warPrime minister of the provisional government from November 1918, he survived the retreat to Liepāja and refuge aboard ship, returned to Riga in July 1919, repelled Bermondt's army and led the Riga peace and land reform of 1920.
- 1918.11–1920.10Baltic wars of independence and border settlementsLatvian prime minister during the independence warPrime minister of the provisional government from November 1918, he survived the retreat to Liepāja and refuge aboard ship, returned to Riga in July 1919, repelled Bermondt's army and led the Riga peace and land reform of 1920.
- 1939.09–1941.06The annexation of the Baltic states and the June 1941 deportationPresident of LatviaBroadcast an order not to resist, appointed the Kirhenšteins government, was forced out in July and sent to the Soviet Union.
Revolution and independence wars
Leader of the Farmers' Union who had fled to the United States after 1905 and studied agriculture at the University of Nebraska. When the People's Council proclaimed independence on 18 November 1918 he became prime minister of the provisional government; after the Red Army took Riga in January 1919 he withdrew to Liepāja and kept the government alive by leaning on the German Landeswehr and Freikorps. Driven by the German coup of April onto the ship Saratov under British protection, he returned to Riga in July after Cēsis, saw off Bermondt's attack on the city and led Latvia through the Treaty of Riga with Soviet Russia in August 1920 and the land reform of September. He was prime minister several times in the 1920s, and on 15 May 1934 dissolved parliament and the parties in a coup, adding the presidency to his powers in 1936. Deported after the Soviet occupation of 1940, he died in prison at Krasnovodsk in Turkmenistan in 1942.