Guntis Ulmanis
Encyclopedia
Guntis Ulmanis is a Latvia
n politician and was the fifth President of Latvia
from 1993 to 1999.
on September 13, 1939. His grandfather was the brother of then-President and Prime Minister
Kārlis Ulmanis
. In 1941 Guntis Ulmanis and his family were exiled to Krasnoyarsk Oblast, Siberia
, Russian SFSR. In 1946 he came back to Latvia, but his family was not allowed to settle in Riga
and so they stayed in Edolē, Kuldīga
area, Latvian SSR
.
In 1949 the remainder of the Ulmanis family was supposed to be exiled again, but Guntis Ulmanis was able to avoid that fate, as his mother remarried and his surname was changed to Rumpītis. They then moved to Jūrmala
, where he went to school. After graduating, he entered the economic faculty of the Latvian State University.
, where he served for two years. In 1965 he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
. He began working as an economist at a construction site and was later promoted to tram and trolleybus administrator in Riga. He was then advanced to the position of deputy chairman of the planning committee of the Riga Executive Committee (city government). However, his past family ties with President Ulmanis
were discovered and he was sacked in 1971. He then worked at lower positions in the Riga municipal service system. For some time he worked as a teacher of construction economics at the Riga Polytechnical Institute and of economic planning
at the Latvian State University.
As Latvia
was heading for the restoration of its independence, Guntis Rumpītis quit the Communist Party in 1989 and returned to using his original surname - Ulmanis. In 1992 he was appointed Council Member of the National Bank of Latvia. He also joined the Peasant Union of Latvia the same year. In 1993 the Saeima
elected him as the 5th President of Latvia (the first since the full restoration of independence in 1991). In the first round he finished third (after Gunārs Meierovics and Aivars Jerumanis), but won in the runoff as Meierovics quit the race.
and sent its application to the European Union
. He announced a moratorium on the death penalty, in accordance with the norms of the European Council.
In 1996, he was re-elected in the first round of elections, defeating Saeima speaker Ilga Kreituse, Imants Liepa and former Communist Party chairman Alfrēds Rubiks
, who was in jail at the time. In 1998 President Ulmanis actively supported amendments to the Citizenship law, that would allow all people born after August 21, 1991 to obtain citizenship and would eliminate so-called "naturalization limits" (in which only a limited number of non-citizenship could receive citizenship within a given year). However, he was forced to send the law project on a referendum, after 36 nationalistic deputies, opposed to the amendment petitioned him to do so. He then actively and successfully campaigned for the adoption of the amendments by the population.
. He retired from politics but became a social activist, founding the Guntis Ulmanis Fund, organizing the 2006 IIHF World Championship
in Riga
and heading the Riga Castle
reconstruction council.
2010 marked a return to big politics for Guntis Ulmanis. He became the chairman of the newly-created party alliance For a Good Latvia, which was composed of the People's Party
and Latvian First Party/Latvian Way. The alliance won only 8 seats in the October 2010 parliamentary election. However, Ulmanis became a Saeima deputy.
Guntis Ulmanis has been married to Aina Ulmanis (maiden name Štelce) since 1962. They have two children: Guntra (b. 1963) and Alvils (b. 1966) and three grandchildren: Paula (b. 1994), Rudolfs (b. 2000) and Matīss (b. 2006). In his spare time Guntis Ulmanis enjoys reading history books and memoirs, playing tennis
, basketball
and volleyball
. He has written two autobiographies: No tevis jau ne prasa daudz (Not much is required from you yet) (1995) and Mans prezidenta laiks (My time as President)(1999)
He is a member of the international advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n politician and was the fifth President of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
from 1993 to 1999.
Early life
Guntis Ulmanis was born in RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
on September 13, 1939. His grandfather was the brother of then-President and Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Latvia
The Prime Minister of Latvia is the most powerful member of the Government of the Republic of Latvia, and presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers...
Kārlis Ulmanis
Karlis Ulmanis
Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis was a prominent Latvian politician in pre-World War II Latvia during the Latvian period of independence from 1918 to 1940.- Education and early career :Ulmanis studied agriculture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and...
. In 1941 Guntis Ulmanis and his family were exiled to Krasnoyarsk Oblast, Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, Russian SFSR. In 1946 he came back to Latvia, but his family was not allowed to settle in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
and so they stayed in Edolē, Kuldīga
Kuldiga
Kuldīga is a town in western Latvia. It is the center of Kuldīga municipality with a population of approximately 13,500.Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242. It joined the Hanseatic League in 1368...
area, Latvian SSR
Latvian SSR
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Latvian SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the Soviet Union. Established on 21 July 1940 as a puppet state during World War II in the territory of the previously independent Republic of Latvia after it had been occupied by...
.
In 1949 the remainder of the Ulmanis family was supposed to be exiled again, but Guntis Ulmanis was able to avoid that fate, as his mother remarried and his surname was changed to Rumpītis. They then moved to Jūrmala
Jurmala
Jūrmala is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometers west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River...
, where he went to school. After graduating, he entered the economic faculty of the Latvian State University.
Career in Latvia
After completing his studies in the university in 1963, he was drafted into the Soviet armySoviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
, where he served for two years. In 1965 he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
. He began working as an economist at a construction site and was later promoted to tram and trolleybus administrator in Riga. He was then advanced to the position of deputy chairman of the planning committee of the Riga Executive Committee (city government). However, his past family ties with President Ulmanis
Karlis Ulmanis
Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis was a prominent Latvian politician in pre-World War II Latvia during the Latvian period of independence from 1918 to 1940.- Education and early career :Ulmanis studied agriculture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and...
were discovered and he was sacked in 1971. He then worked at lower positions in the Riga municipal service system. For some time he worked as a teacher of construction economics at the Riga Polytechnical Institute and of economic planning
Economic planning
Economic planning refers to any directing or planning of economic activity outside the mechanisisms of the market, in an attempt to achieve specific economic or social outcomes. Planning is an economic mechanism for resource allocation and decision-making in contrast with the market mechanism...
at the Latvian State University.
As Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
was heading for the restoration of its independence, Guntis Rumpītis quit the Communist Party in 1989 and returned to using his original surname - Ulmanis. In 1992 he was appointed Council Member of the National Bank of Latvia. He also joined the Peasant Union of Latvia the same year. In 1993 the Saeima
Saeima
Saeima is the parliament of the Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the popular vote. Elections are scheduled to be held once every four years,...
elected him as the 5th President of Latvia (the first since the full restoration of independence in 1991). In the first round he finished third (after Gunārs Meierovics and Aivars Jerumanis), but won in the runoff as Meierovics quit the race.
Presidency
As President, Guntis Ulmanis focused on foreign policy, building relations with international and regional organizations, as well as other countries. A major achievement was the conclusion of the Latvian-Russian treaty on the withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Latvia. During his presidency, Latvia joined the Council of EuropeCouncil of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
and sent its application to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. He announced a moratorium on the death penalty, in accordance with the norms of the European Council.
In 1996, he was re-elected in the first round of elections, defeating Saeima speaker Ilga Kreituse, Imants Liepa and former Communist Party chairman Alfrēds Rubiks
Alfreds Rubiks
Alfrēds Rubiks is a Latvian Socialist politician and a former leader of the Communist Party of Latvia. Currently he is the Member of the European Parliament from Latvia...
, who was in jail at the time. In 1998 President Ulmanis actively supported amendments to the Citizenship law, that would allow all people born after August 21, 1991 to obtain citizenship and would eliminate so-called "naturalization limits" (in which only a limited number of non-citizenship could receive citizenship within a given year). However, he was forced to send the law project on a referendum, after 36 nationalistic deputies, opposed to the amendment petitioned him to do so. He then actively and successfully campaigned for the adoption of the amendments by the population.
Retirement and subsequent return to politics
Guntis Ulmanis' term finished in 1999 and he was succeeded by Vaira Vīķe-FreibergaVaira Vike-Freiberga
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga was the sixth President of Latvia, the first female President of Latvia and the first female leader in eastern Europe. She was elected President of Latvia in 1999 and re-elected in 2003.Dr...
. He retired from politics but became a social activist, founding the Guntis Ulmanis Fund, organizing the 2006 IIHF World Championship
2006 IIHF World Championship
-Group B :All times local - Group C :All times local - Group D :All times local -Qualifying round:The top three teams from each group in the Preliminary round advance to the Qualifying Round...
in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
and heading the Riga Castle
Riga Castle
Riga Castle is a castle on the banks of River Daugava in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The castle was founded in 1330. This structure was thoroughly rebuilt between 1497 and 1515. Upon the castle's seizure by the Swedes, they constructed spacious annexes in 1641. The fortress was continually...
reconstruction council.
2010 marked a return to big politics for Guntis Ulmanis. He became the chairman of the newly-created party alliance For a Good Latvia, which was composed of the People's Party
People's Party
The People's Party, Peoples Party, or Popular Party, is any of several political parties claiming to speak for the people.People's Parties in various countries run the gamut from left to right...
and Latvian First Party/Latvian Way. The alliance won only 8 seats in the October 2010 parliamentary election. However, Ulmanis became a Saeima deputy.
Guntis Ulmanis has been married to Aina Ulmanis (maiden name Štelce) since 1962. They have two children: Guntra (b. 1963) and Alvils (b. 1966) and three grandchildren: Paula (b. 1994), Rudolfs (b. 2000) and Matīss (b. 2006). In his spare time Guntis Ulmanis enjoys reading history books and memoirs, playing tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. He has written two autobiographies: No tevis jau ne prasa daudz (Not much is required from you yet) (1995) and Mans prezidenta laiks (My time as President)(1999)
He is a member of the international advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a non-profit educational organization in the United States, established as a result of an Act of Congress in 1993 with the purpose to commemorate "the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims in an unprecedented imperial communist holocaust"...
.