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.
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
Microbiologist who headed the puppet government chosen by the Soviet embassy in 1940 and requested Latvia’s incorporation into the USSR
Born the son of a tenant on a manor in Mazsalaca, Livonia, he studied at the Tartu Veterinary Institute, took part in the revolution of 1905 and emigrated to Switzerland, working at a tuberculosis institute in Davos. He served as a military veterinarian in the Serbian army in the First World War and as a captain in the veterinary units of the Latvian War of Independence. In 1919 he founded a Microbiology Institute at the University of Latvia, and in 1923 he defended the first doctoral thesis in Latvia; politically he supported social democracy. In June 1940 the Soviet embassy offered him the leadership of the new puppet government; as prime minister, and from 21 July acting president, he requested Latvia’s incorporation into the Soviet Union. He chaired the Latvian SSR Supreme Soviet’s presidium in 1940–1952, joined the Communist Party in 1941 and died in Riga in 1963.
Career timeline
- 1893–1901Tartu Veterinary Institute
- 1911Assistant at the tuberculosis institute in Davos
- 1919Founded the Microbiology Institute at the University of Latvia
- 1940Puppet prime minister and acting president
- 1940–1952Chairman of the Latvian SSR Supreme Soviet’s presidium
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.
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
The Communist Party secretary who led Latvia's Supreme Council through the restoration of independence
On 14 January 1991, General Kuzmin's ultimatum to the chairman of the Supreme Council was simple: repeal the laws Latvia had adopted, or the army would act. Gorbunovs did not repeal them, and a week later flew to Moscow to face Gorbachev.
A farmer's son from Pilda in eastern Latvia, he graduated from construction college, Riga Polytechnical Institute, and the Moscow Academy of Social Sciences, then rose through the Latvian Communist Party apparatus to become Central Committee secretary for ideology. He broke with the party's hard line in 1988 by backing the Latvian Popular Front, and as Chairman of the Supreme Council presided over the 4 May 1990 session that declared the Soviet Union an occupying power and began the transition to restored independence. During the January 1991 Barricades he stood firm against General Kuzmin's ultimatum, then flew to Moscow on 21 January to confront Gorbachev directly.
Career timeline
- 1959–1965Technician at Nīkrāce state farm, employee at Riga Agricultural Engineering Institute, Soviet Army service
- 1970–1974Senior lecturer at Riga Polytechnical Institute, Kirov district Komsomol first secretary
- 1974–1988Various posts in the Latvian Communist Party Central Committee, rising to secretary for ideology
- 1988–1990Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR
- 1990–1993Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia, acting head of state after independence
- 1993–1995Speaker of the 5th Saeima
- 1995–2002Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Minister for Transport
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
