Politics of Latvia
Encyclopedia
The politics of Latvia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary
representative democratic
republic
, whereby the Prime Minister
is the head of government
, and of a multi-party system
. The President holds a primarily ceremonial role as Head of State. Executive power
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
and parliament, the Saeima
.
The Judiciary
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
In autumn 1992 Latvia reimplemented significant portions of its 1922 constitution and in spring 1993 the government took a census to determine eligibility for citizenship. After almost three years of deliberations, Latvia finalized a citizenship and naturalization law in summer 1994.
In the 5–6 June 1993 elections, with a turnout of over 90%, eight of Latvia's 23 registered political parties passed the four percent threshold to enter parliament. The Popular Front, which spearheaded the drive for independence two years previously with a 75% majority in the last parliamentary elections in 1990, did not qualify for representation. The centrist Latvian Way
party received a 33% plurality of votes and joined with the Farmer's Union to head a center-right coalition government.
Led by the opposition National Conservative Party, right-wing nationalists won a majority of the seats nationwide and also captured the Riga
mayoralty in the 29 May 1994 municipal elections. OSCE
and COE observers pronounced the elections free and fair, and turnout averaged about 60%. In February 1995, the Council of Europe granted Latvia membership.
With President Bill Clinton's
assistance, on 30 April 1994 Latvia and Russia signed a troop withdrawal agreement. Russia withdrew its troops by 31 August 1994, but maintained several hundred technical specialists to staff an OSCE-monitored phased-array ABM
radar station at Skrunda until 31 August 1998.
The 30 September-1 October 1995 elections produced a deeply fragmented parliament with nine parties represented and the largest party - the newly founded centrist Democratic Party "Saimnieks"
- commanding only 18 of 100 seats. Attempts to form right-of-center and left-wing governments failed; 7 weeks after the election, a broad but fractious coalition government of six of the nine parties was voted into office under Prime Minister Andris Šķēle
, a nonpartisan businessman. The also-popular president, Guntis Ulmanis
, had limited constitutional powers but played a key role in leading the various political forces to agree finally to this broad coalition. In June 1996, the Saeima re-elected Ulmanis to another 3-year term. In the summer of 1997, the daily newspaper Diena revealed that half the cabinet ministers and two-thirds of parliamentarians appeared to violate the 1996 anti-corruption law, which bars senior officials from holding positions in private business. Under pressure from Šķēle, several ministers subsequently resigned or were fired. However, after months of increasing hostility between Šķēle and leading coalition politicians, the coalition parties demanded and received the prime minister's resignation on 28 July. The new government was formed by the recent Minister of Economy Guntars Krasts. It included the same parties and mostly the same ministers as Šķēle's government. It pursued the same course of reform, albeit not as vigorously.
In the 1998 elections, the Latvian party structure began to consolidate with only six parties winning seats in the Saeima. Andris Šķēle's newly formed People's Party
garnered a plurality with 24 seats. Though the election represented a victory for the center-right, personality conflicts and scandals within the two largest right of center parties–Latvian Way
and the People's Party
–prevented stable coalitions from forming. Two shaky governments under Vilis Krištopans
and Andris Šķēle quickly collapsed in less than a year. In May 2000, a compromise candidate was found in the form of Andris Bērziņš, the Latvian Way
mayor of Rīga. His four-party coalition government lasted till the next elections in 2002.
In 1999, the Saeima elected Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
, a compromise candidate with no party affiliation, to the presidency. Though born in Rīga in 1937, she settled in Canada during the years of the Soviet occupation, becoming a well-respected academic in the subject of Latvian culture. Since her election, she has become one of the most popular political figures in Latvia.
Local elections in 2001 represented a victory for the left-of-center parties in several municipalities, including Rīga. A leftist coalition in the Rīga City Council elected Gundars Bojārs
, a Social Democrat, to the office of mayor.
Between local elections in 2001 and Saeima elections in 2002, two new parties formed: the conservative New Era Party
led by Einars Repše and Christian Democratic Latvia's First Party. Both of them promised to fight corruption and made that the most important issue in 2002 elections. Six parties were elected to Saiema in 2002 elections. New Era Party
with 26 seats out of 100 became the largest party in the parliament. Several previously successful parties such as Latvian Way
and the Social Democrats did not reach the 5% threshold of the popular vote needed to be in the parliament. This was mostly due to voters perceiving these parties as corrupt. After elections, Einars Repše formed a government consisting of his New Era Party
and three other parties.
In 2003, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga was reelected to the presidency for the second term, until 2007. On 20 September 2003, Latvia voted to join the European Union in a referendum. Virtually all of major political parties and major Latvian-language media supported the 'YES' vote. Latvian government also spent significant amount of money for the 'YES' campagain. The 'NO' campaign lacked both funding and media access. Out of voters who participated in the referendum, 66.9% of cast votes in favor of EU. The vote was largerly along the ethnic lines. It is estimated that 84% of ethnic Latvians voted 'YES', while 91% of ethnic Russians voted 'NO' http://www.policy.lv/index.php?id=102756&lang=en.
After the referendum, Repše's government started to fall apart and he eventually resigned in January 2004. A new government, led by Indulis Emsis
, head of the conservative "Union of Greens and Farmers
" (ZZS) was approved by the parliament in March 2004. The government was a coalition of ZZS, TP (People's party), and LPP (First Party); the coalition has only 46 out of 100 seats in Latvia's parliament, but was also supported by TSP, the leftist party of national harmony. After the Saeima did not accept the budget for 2005 proposed by the government of Indulis Emsis, the government resigned. On 2 December 2004, Aigars Kalvītis
became the new Prime Minister and thus head of the government.
Kalvītis was the first prime minister in the history of post-soviet independent Latvia whose government was reelected by an election in 2006. New Era Party, however, weakened, so a coalition reshuffle took place, and a 4-party centre-right coalition emerged. The government lasted only until 5 December 2007, when Kalvitis resigned due to his continuous and unsuccessful attempts to dismiss Aleksejs Loskutovs, the head of KNAB
, the State Anti-Corruption Agency, after Loskutov's had investigated shadowy matters of the PM's party.
After negotiations, a "crisis-handling" government was formed, with the participation of the same parties, led by former PM Ivars Godmanis
, a respectable public figure, and member of Latvian Way
. The government tried to impose austerity
measures, with moderate success. This was accompanied, though, with a widespread public opposition, which resulted in two referenda, one on pensions
, the other on constitutional amendments
, which would have allowed the electorate to initiate the dissolution of the parliament.
Both of the referenda failed, but the country entered into the worst political crisis since the independence from the Soviet Union
, together with the economic situation severely deteriorating, due to the world financial crisis. The popularity of the governing parties melted and was below the parliamentary threshold. By the end of 2008, parties had a hard time agreeing on further budget cuts, (mainly in the social sphere) the planned reorganization of the government, and layoffs.
On 13 January 2009, there were severe riots in Riga
, with protesters attacking the building of the parliament. The President Valdis Zatlers
gave an ultimatum to parties, saying that should they not agree on constitutional amendments about the dissolution of the Saeima
, he would dissolve the parliament by the end of March. After background talks and a failed vote of no confidence, PM Ivars Godmanis chose to resign in late February. On the 26 February, Zatlers nominated the candidate of New Era Party
, MEP
Valdis Dombrovskis
to the post of prime minister. After talks, on 4 March 2009 five parties confirmed their participation in the coalition: New Era, People's Party, Union of Greens and Peasants, For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK, and Civic Union.
and European Union
, amending a more restrictive law, initially passed in 1994. In accordance with law, Latvian citizens are those who had Latvian citizenship prior to June 17, 1940, and their descendants. Those who settled in Latvia during Soviet occupation
, with exception of those who did so subsequent to retirement from Soviet Army
, or were employees, informers, agents or safehouse keepers of the KGB
, or of the security services, intelligence services or other special services of some other foreign state, can obtain Latvian citizenship
via naturalization
. Other categories of persons not eligible for naturalization include convicted criminals, state officials and servicemen of armed forces of a foreign state, members of Communist Party
as well as members of certain affiliate organizations, who, after 13 January 1991, have acted against the Latvian State. Naturalization criteria include a conversational knowledge of Latvian, an oath of loyalty, renunciation of former citizenship, a 5-year residency requirement, and a knowledge of the Latvian constitution. As of November 2005, about 109,000 persons have applied for naturalization and about 103,000 of them have been granted Latvian citizenship.
In 2006 approximately 18 per cent of the total population (420,000 inhabitants of Latvia, slightly less than half of ethnically non-Latvian population) had no Latvian citizenship. Most of them have Latvian non-Citizen
Passports, which give them a status similar to permanent residency in other countries. They can reside in Latvia indefinitely and obtain most of public services (e.g., education and healthcare) according to the same conditions as the citizens of Latvia. Non-citizens of Latvia cannot vote during municipal and state elections and are not allowed to work in government, the police and civil services. Several foreign nations also treat citizens and non-citizens of Latvia differently, admitting citizens of Latvia without visa but requiring visas from non-citizens. Russia used to have an opposite practice, requiring visas from both citizens and non-citizens of Latvia, but allowing non-citizens to travel to Russia with a cheaper visa.
As a transitional clause, the Latvian law allows dual citizenship for those who were forced to leave Latvia during the Soviet or Nazi occupation and adopted another citizenship while away from Latvia. In order to be eligible for dual citizenship, they had to claim it by July 1, 1995. After that date the other citizenship must be renounced upon the acceptance of the Latvian citizenship.
Latvian is the sole state language in Latvia; while the threatened Livonian language
also has official status. All other languages are considered foreign by the law on state languages. The Latgalian written language
is also protected as a historic variant of the Latvian language. Two parliamentary parties, Harmony Centre
and ForHRUL, have requested that Russian (37.5% of inhabitants, according to the 2000 census, are Russians) be given official status.
Since 1999, the education laws have forbidden the public universities to instruct students in languages other than Latvian (there are exclusions made for linguistics, some international projects and non-budget groups). The law included a provision allowing for instruction in Latvian only in public high schools since 2004. Following large-scale protests in 2003—2004
, the law was amended, requiring instruction in Latvian within at least 60% of the curriculum.
|Andris Bērziņš
|Union of Greens and Farmers
|8 July 2011
|}
The president is elected by Parliament for a maximum of two terms of four-years, by secret ballot and by an absolute majority of the vote (Constitution of Latvia, Articles 35, 36 and 39).
The President is a largely ceremonial Head of State, and in common with other presidents in parliamentary republics, the President of Latvia has influence and authority rather than power.
Although the President is formally the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, signs treaties, represents Latvia abroad, and officially appoints ambassadors and other key officials, these powers are constitutionally exercised on the binding advice of the Prime Minister, who is politically responsible for them (Constitution of Latvia, Article 53). The President does, however, have personal discretion over the proposal of legislation to the Parliament, vetoing legislation, calling referendums on legislation, and nominating the Prime Minister. The President also has the right, in extremis, to call a referendum on the premature dissolution of Parliament: if the referendum is passed, Parliament is dissolved; but if the referendum fails, the President must resign.
|Valdis Dombrovskis
|New Era Party
|12 March 2009
|-
|Other government parties
|
|ZSS
,TP, LPP
, TB/LNNK, Civic Union
|
|}
The Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The Prime Minister then chooses the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) which has to be accepted by the Parliament. The Parliament can remove the Prime Minister and Cabinet by means of a vote of no-confidence (Constitution of Latvia, Article 59).
) has 100 members, elected for a four year term by proportional representation
with a 5% threshold. The parliamentary elections are held on the first Saturday of October. Locally, Latvia elects municipal councils, consisting of 7 to 60 members, depending on the size of the municipality, also by proportional representation
for a four year term.
, CBSS, CE
, EAPC
, EBRD, ECE
, EU
, FAO
, IAEA, IBRD
, ICAO, ICC
, ICRM
, IDA
, IFC
, IFRCS, ILO
, IMF
, IMO
, ITUC
, Intelsat
(nonsignatory user), Interpol
, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO
(correspondent), ITU
, NATO, NSG
, OAS
(observer), OPCW, OSCE
, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO
, UNIDO
, UPU
, WCO
, WEU (associate partner), WHO
, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WTrO (applicant)
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, whereby the 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...
is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, and of a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. The President holds a primarily ceremonial role as Head of State. Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and parliament, 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,...
.
The Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Political developments since independence
On March 19, 1991 the Supreme Council passed a law explicitly guaranteeing "equal rights to all nationalities and ethnic groups" and "guarantees to all permanent residents in the Republic regardless of their nationality, equal rights to work and wages." The law also prohibits "any activity directed toward nationality discrimination or the promotion of national superiority or hatred."In autumn 1992 Latvia reimplemented significant portions of its 1922 constitution and in spring 1993 the government took a census to determine eligibility for citizenship. After almost three years of deliberations, Latvia finalized a citizenship and naturalization law in summer 1994.
In the 5–6 June 1993 elections, with a turnout of over 90%, eight of Latvia's 23 registered political parties passed the four percent threshold to enter parliament. The Popular Front, which spearheaded the drive for independence two years previously with a 75% majority in the last parliamentary elections in 1990, did not qualify for representation. The centrist Latvian Way
Latvian Way
Latvian Way was a centre-right liberal party in Latvia. It merged with Latvia's First Party to form the Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way in 2007.It described itself as "a liberal party defending people's freedom to shape their own lives"...
party received a 33% plurality of votes and joined with the Farmer's Union to head a center-right coalition government.
Led by the opposition National Conservative Party, right-wing nationalists won a majority of the seats nationwide and also captured the 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,...
mayoralty in the 29 May 1994 municipal elections. OSCE
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
and COE observers pronounced the elections free and fair, and turnout averaged about 60%. In February 1995, the Council of Europe granted Latvia membership.
With President Bill Clinton's
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
assistance, on 30 April 1994 Latvia and Russia signed a troop withdrawal agreement. Russia withdrew its troops by 31 August 1994, but maintained several hundred technical specialists to staff an OSCE-monitored phased-array ABM
Anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles .A ballistic missile is used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" describes any antimissile system designed to counter...
radar station at Skrunda until 31 August 1998.
The 30 September-1 October 1995 elections produced a deeply fragmented parliament with nine parties represented and the largest party - the newly founded centrist Democratic Party "Saimnieks"
Democratic Party "Saimnieks"
The Democratic Party "Saimnieks" was a Latvian centre-left political party formed through the merger of the Latvian Democratic Party and the political party "Saimnieks" in 1995. It won the Latvian parliamentary election, 1995 and was represented with 18 deputies in the Saeima of 6th convocation...
- commanding only 18 of 100 seats. Attempts to form right-of-center and left-wing governments failed; 7 weeks after the election, a broad but fractious coalition government of six of the nine parties was voted into office under Prime Minister Andris Šķēle
Andris Škele
Andris Šķēle is a Latvian politician and Business oligarch. He has served two terms as Prime Minister of Latvia from 21 December 1995 to 7 August 1997, and from 16 July 1999 to 5 May 2000....
, a nonpartisan businessman. The also-popular president, Guntis Ulmanis
Guntis Ulmanis
Guntis Ulmanis is a Latvian politician and was the fifth President of Latvia from 1993 to 1999.-Early life:Guntis Ulmanis was born in Riga 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...
, had limited constitutional powers but played a key role in leading the various political forces to agree finally to this broad coalition. In June 1996, the Saeima re-elected Ulmanis to another 3-year term. In the summer of 1997, the daily newspaper Diena revealed that half the cabinet ministers and two-thirds of parliamentarians appeared to violate the 1996 anti-corruption law, which bars senior officials from holding positions in private business. Under pressure from Šķēle, several ministers subsequently resigned or were fired. However, after months of increasing hostility between Šķēle and leading coalition politicians, the coalition parties demanded and received the prime minister's resignation on 28 July. The new government was formed by the recent Minister of Economy Guntars Krasts. It included the same parties and mostly the same ministers as Šķēle's government. It pursued the same course of reform, albeit not as vigorously.
In the 1998 elections, the Latvian party structure began to consolidate with only six parties winning seats in the Saeima. Andris Šķēle's newly formed People's Party
People's Party (Latvia)
The People's Party was a centre-right political party in Latvia. It described itself as a conservative party.Tautas partija was founded in 1998 by Andris Šķēle, a businessman and former prime minister, who was the chairman of the party until 2002. Because of Šķēle's powerful personality, many...
garnered a plurality with 24 seats. Though the election represented a victory for the center-right, personality conflicts and scandals within the two largest right of center parties–Latvian Way
Latvian Way
Latvian Way was a centre-right liberal party in Latvia. It merged with Latvia's First Party to form the Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way in 2007.It described itself as "a liberal party defending people's freedom to shape their own lives"...
and the People's Party
People's Party (Latvia)
The People's Party was a centre-right political party in Latvia. It described itself as a conservative party.Tautas partija was founded in 1998 by Andris Šķēle, a businessman and former prime minister, who was the chairman of the party until 2002. Because of Šķēle's powerful personality, many...
–prevented stable coalitions from forming. Two shaky governments under Vilis Krištopans
Vilis Krištopans
Vilis Krištopans is a Latvian politician. He served as Prime Minister of Latvia from November 26, 1998 to July 15, 1999.As a prime minister he was a member of the Latvian Way political party...
and Andris Šķēle quickly collapsed in less than a year. In May 2000, a compromise candidate was found in the form of Andris Bērziņš, the Latvian Way
Latvian Way
Latvian Way was a centre-right liberal party in Latvia. It merged with Latvia's First Party to form the Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way in 2007.It described itself as "a liberal party defending people's freedom to shape their own lives"...
mayor of Rīga. His four-party coalition government lasted till the next elections in 2002.
In 1999, the Saeima elected Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
Vaira 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...
, a compromise candidate with no party affiliation, to the presidency. Though born in Rīga in 1937, she settled in Canada during the years of the Soviet occupation, becoming a well-respected academic in the subject of Latvian culture. Since her election, she has become one of the most popular political figures in Latvia.
Local elections in 2001 represented a victory for the left-of-center parties in several municipalities, including Rīga. A leftist coalition in the Rīga City Council elected Gundars Bojārs
Gundars Bojars
Gundars Bojārs is a Latvian politician. He was the mayor of Riga from 2001 to 2005.- References :...
, a Social Democrat, to the office of mayor.
Between local elections in 2001 and Saeima elections in 2002, two new parties formed: the conservative New Era Party
New Era Party
The New Era Party , abbreviated to JL, was a centre-right political party in Latvia. Founded in 2002, the party merged with Civic Union and Society for Other Politics to form Unity in 2011....
led by Einars Repše and Christian Democratic Latvia's First Party. Both of them promised to fight corruption and made that the most important issue in 2002 elections. Six parties were elected to Saiema in 2002 elections. New Era Party
New Era Party
The New Era Party , abbreviated to JL, was a centre-right political party in Latvia. Founded in 2002, the party merged with Civic Union and Society for Other Politics to form Unity in 2011....
with 26 seats out of 100 became the largest party in the parliament. Several previously successful parties such as Latvian Way
Latvian Way
Latvian Way was a centre-right liberal party in Latvia. It merged with Latvia's First Party to form the Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way in 2007.It described itself as "a liberal party defending people's freedom to shape their own lives"...
and the Social Democrats did not reach the 5% threshold of the popular vote needed to be in the parliament. This was mostly due to voters perceiving these parties as corrupt. After elections, Einars Repše formed a government consisting of his New Era Party
New Era Party
The New Era Party , abbreviated to JL, was a centre-right political party in Latvia. Founded in 2002, the party merged with Civic Union and Society for Other Politics to form Unity in 2011....
and three other parties.
In 2003, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga was reelected to the presidency for the second term, until 2007. On 20 September 2003, Latvia voted to join the European Union in a referendum. Virtually all of major political parties and major Latvian-language media supported the 'YES' vote. Latvian government also spent significant amount of money for the 'YES' campagain. The 'NO' campaign lacked both funding and media access. Out of voters who participated in the referendum, 66.9% of cast votes in favor of EU. The vote was largerly along the ethnic lines. It is estimated that 84% of ethnic Latvians voted 'YES', while 91% of ethnic Russians voted 'NO' http://www.policy.lv/index.php?id=102756&lang=en.
After the referendum, Repše's government started to fall apart and he eventually resigned in January 2004. A new government, led by Indulis Emsis
Indulis Emsis
Indulis Emsis is a Latvian biologist and politician. He was Prime Minister of Latvia for ten months in 2004, the first Green politician to lead a country in the history of the world. He was Speaker of the Saeima, the Latvian parliament from 2006 to 2007...
, head of the conservative "Union of Greens and Farmers
Union of Greens and Farmers
Union of Greens and Farmers is a green/agrarian and conservative political alliance in Latvia. It consists of two political parties: Latvian Farmers' Union and the Green Party of Latvia . It is the third-largest party in the Saeima....
" (ZZS) was approved by the parliament in March 2004. The government was a coalition of ZZS, TP (People's party), and LPP (First Party); the coalition has only 46 out of 100 seats in Latvia's parliament, but was also supported by TSP, the leftist party of national harmony. After the Saeima did not accept the budget for 2005 proposed by the government of Indulis Emsis, the government resigned. On 2 December 2004, Aigars Kalvītis
Aigars Kalvitis
Aigars Kalvītis is a Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia and current Chairman of the Board of Latvijas Balzams....
became the new Prime Minister and thus head of the government.
Kalvītis was the first prime minister in the history of post-soviet independent Latvia whose government was reelected by an election in 2006. New Era Party, however, weakened, so a coalition reshuffle took place, and a 4-party centre-right coalition emerged. The government lasted only until 5 December 2007, when Kalvitis resigned due to his continuous and unsuccessful attempts to dismiss Aleksejs Loskutovs, the head of KNAB
Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB)
The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau is a specialised anti-corruption authority of Latvia. Its aim is to fight corruption in Latvia in a coordinated and comprehensive way through prevention, investigation and education...
, the State Anti-Corruption Agency, after Loskutov's had investigated shadowy matters of the PM's party.
After negotiations, a "crisis-handling" government was formed, with the participation of the same parties, led by former PM Ivars Godmanis
Ivars Godmanis
Ivars Godmanis is a Latvian politician and currently 1 of the 8 Latvian MEPs in the European parliament. He was the first Prime Minister of Latvia after the country became independent from the Soviet Union, and he became a Prime Minister for the second time in December 2007.Godmanis served as...
, a respectable public figure, and member of Latvian Way
Latvian Way
Latvian Way was a centre-right liberal party in Latvia. It merged with Latvia's First Party to form the Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way in 2007.It described itself as "a liberal party defending people's freedom to shape their own lives"...
. The government tried to impose austerity
Austerity
In economics, austerity is a policy of deficit-cutting, lower spending, and a reduction in the amount of benefits and public services provided. Austerity policies are often used by governments to reduce their deficit spending while sometimes coupled with increases in taxes to pay back creditors to...
measures, with moderate success. This was accompanied, though, with a widespread public opposition, which resulted in two referenda, one on pensions
Latvian pensions law referendum, 2008
A referendum on amendments in the pensions law was held in Latvia on 23 August 2008. It failed due to low turnout, as 453,730 votes would have been necessary to make it valid...
, the other on constitutional amendments
Latvian constitutional referendum, 2008
A constitutional referendum to amend the constitution of Latvia in order to allow one-tenth of the total registered electorate to initiate a popular referendum to dissolve the Latvian parliament was held in Latvia on 2 August 2008....
, which would have allowed the electorate to initiate the dissolution of the parliament.
Both of the referenda failed, but the country entered into the worst political crisis since the independence from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, together with the economic situation severely deteriorating, due to the world financial crisis. The popularity of the governing parties melted and was below the parliamentary threshold. By the end of 2008, parties had a hard time agreeing on further budget cuts, (mainly in the social sphere) the planned reorganization of the government, and layoffs.
On 13 January 2009, there were severe riots in Riga
2009 Riga riot
2009 Riga riot was a civil unrest in Riga, Latvia on January 13, 2009.The opposition and trade unions organized a rally requesting dissolution of the parliament. The rally gathered some 10-20 thousand people....
, with protesters attacking the building of the parliament. The President Valdis Zatlers
Valdis Zatlers
Valdis Zatlers is a Latvian politician and former physician who served as the seventh president of Latvia from 2007 to 2011. He won the Latvian presidential election of 31 May 2007...
gave an ultimatum to parties, saying that should they not agree on constitutional amendments about the dissolution of 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,...
, he would dissolve the parliament by the end of March. After background talks and a failed vote of no confidence, PM Ivars Godmanis chose to resign in late February. On the 26 February, Zatlers nominated the candidate of New Era Party
New Era Party
The New Era Party , abbreviated to JL, was a centre-right political party in Latvia. Founded in 2002, the party merged with Civic Union and Society for Other Politics to form Unity in 2011....
, MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
Valdis Dombrovskis
Valdis Dombrovskis
Valdis Dombrovskis is the Prime Minister of Latvia. He previously served as Latvia's Minister of Finance and as a Member of the European Parliament for the New Era Party.-Education and science career:...
to the post of prime minister. After talks, on 4 March 2009 five parties confirmed their participation in the coalition: New Era, People's Party, Union of Greens and Peasants, For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK, and Civic Union.
Citizenship and language issues
The current edition of the citizenship law was adopted in 1998 after much debate and pressure from RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and 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...
, amending a more restrictive law, initially passed in 1994. In accordance with law, Latvian citizens are those who had Latvian citizenship prior to June 17, 1940, and their descendants. Those who settled in Latvia during Soviet occupation
Soviet occupation of Latvia
Soviet occupation of Latvia can refer to:*Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940*Occupation of Latvia by Soviet Union 1944-1945...
, with exception of those who did so subsequent to retirement from Soviet Army
Soviet 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...
, or were employees, informers, agents or safehouse keepers of the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, or of the security services, intelligence services or other special services of some other foreign state, can obtain Latvian citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
via naturalization
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
. Other categories of persons not eligible for naturalization include convicted criminals, state officials and servicemen of armed forces of a foreign state, members of Communist Party
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...
as well as members of certain affiliate organizations, who, after 13 January 1991, have acted against the Latvian State. Naturalization criteria include a conversational knowledge of Latvian, an oath of loyalty, renunciation of former citizenship, a 5-year residency requirement, and a knowledge of the Latvian constitution. As of November 2005, about 109,000 persons have applied for naturalization and about 103,000 of them have been granted Latvian citizenship.
In 2006 approximately 18 per cent of the total population (420,000 inhabitants of Latvia, slightly less than half of ethnically non-Latvian population) had no Latvian citizenship. Most of them have Latvian non-Citizen
Non-citizens (Latvia)
Non-citizens in Latvian law are individuals who are not citizens of Latvia or any other country but, who, in accordance with the Latvian law "Regarding the status of citizens of the former USSR who possess neither Latvian nor other citizenship", have the right to a non-citizen passport issued by...
Passports, which give them a status similar to permanent residency in other countries. They can reside in Latvia indefinitely and obtain most of public services (e.g., education and healthcare) according to the same conditions as the citizens of Latvia. Non-citizens of Latvia cannot vote during municipal and state elections and are not allowed to work in government, the police and civil services. Several foreign nations also treat citizens and non-citizens of Latvia differently, admitting citizens of Latvia without visa but requiring visas from non-citizens. Russia used to have an opposite practice, requiring visas from both citizens and non-citizens of Latvia, but allowing non-citizens to travel to Russia with a cheaper visa.
As a transitional clause, the Latvian law allows dual citizenship for those who were forced to leave Latvia during the Soviet or Nazi occupation and adopted another citizenship while away from Latvia. In order to be eligible for dual citizenship, they had to claim it by July 1, 1995. After that date the other citizenship must be renounced upon the acceptance of the Latvian citizenship.
Latvian is the sole state language in Latvia; while the threatened Livonian language
Livonian language
Livonian belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. It is a nearly extinct language, with one of its last native speakers having died in February 2009. It is closely related to Estonian...
also has official status. All other languages are considered foreign by the law on state languages. The Latgalian written language
Latgalian language
Latgalian language can mean one of the following:#It was a language spoken by Latgalians in a great part of the area which is now Latvia. Latgalian was a member of the Baltic group of the Indo-European language family. Historically the Latvian language is derived from Latgalian Latgalian language...
is also protected as a historic variant of the Latvian language. Two parliamentary parties, Harmony Centre
Harmony Centre
Harmony Centre is a political alliance in Latvia. It was formed in 2005 and its member parties are the Social Democratic Party "Harmony" and the Socialist Party of Latvia Harmony Centre (abbreviated SC; ) is a political alliance in Latvia. It was formed in 2005 and its member parties are the...
and ForHRUL, have requested that Russian (37.5% of inhabitants, according to the 2000 census, are Russians) be given official status.
Since 1999, the education laws have forbidden the public universities to instruct students in languages other than Latvian (there are exclusions made for linguistics, some international projects and non-budget groups). The law included a provision allowing for instruction in Latvian only in public high schools since 2004. Following large-scale protests in 2003—2004
Russian School Defense Staff
Russian School Defense Staff or Headquarters for the Protection of Russian Schools — movement in Latvia for protection of public secondary education in Russian...
, the law was amended, requiring instruction in Latvian within at least 60% of the curriculum.
President
|President|Andris Bērziņš
Andris Bērziņš (Latvian President)
Andris Bērziņš is a Latvian businessman and politician. He is the President of Latvia, having won the presidential election held on 2 June 2011.From 1993 to 2004, Bērziņš was the President of Unibanka.- Early career :...
|Union of Greens and Farmers
Union of Greens and Farmers
Union of Greens and Farmers is a green/agrarian and conservative political alliance in Latvia. It consists of two political parties: Latvian Farmers' Union and the Green Party of Latvia . It is the third-largest party in the Saeima....
|8 July 2011
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The president is elected by Parliament for a maximum of two terms of four-years, by secret ballot and by an absolute majority of the vote (Constitution of Latvia, Articles 35, 36 and 39).
The President is a largely ceremonial Head of State, and in common with other presidents in parliamentary republics, the President of Latvia has influence and authority rather than power.
Although the President is formally the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, signs treaties, represents Latvia abroad, and officially appoints ambassadors and other key officials, these powers are constitutionally exercised on the binding advice of the Prime Minister, who is politically responsible for them (Constitution of Latvia, Article 53). The President does, however, have personal discretion over the proposal of legislation to the Parliament, vetoing legislation, calling referendums on legislation, and nominating the Prime Minister. The President also has the right, in extremis, to call a referendum on the premature dissolution of Parliament: if the referendum is passed, Parliament is dissolved; but if the referendum fails, the President must resign.
Executive Branch
|Prime MinisterPrime 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...
|Valdis Dombrovskis
Valdis Dombrovskis
Valdis Dombrovskis is the Prime Minister of Latvia. He previously served as Latvia's Minister of Finance and as a Member of the European Parliament for the New Era Party.-Education and science career:...
|New Era Party
New Era Party
The New Era Party , abbreviated to JL, was a centre-right political party in Latvia. Founded in 2002, the party merged with Civic Union and Society for Other Politics to form Unity in 2011....
|12 March 2009
|-
|Other government parties
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|ZSS
Union of Greens and Farmers
Union of Greens and Farmers is a green/agrarian and conservative political alliance in Latvia. It consists of two political parties: Latvian Farmers' Union and the Green Party of Latvia . It is the third-largest party in the Saeima....
,TP, LPP
Latvia First Party
The Latvia's First Party was a right-wing, socially conservative and Christian democratic political party in Latvia. It merged with Latvian Way to form LPP/LC in 2007.It was founded on 25 May 2002, led by Ēriks Jēkabsons and Ainārs Šlesers...
, TB/LNNK, Civic Union
Civic Union
The term Civic Union designates many different political parties, both former and modern ones:* Civic Union , from Argentina* Civic Union , from Latvia* Civic Union , from Uruguay* The Civic Union Party, from Perú...
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The Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The Prime Minister then chooses the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) which has to be accepted by the Parliament. The Parliament can remove the Prime Minister and Cabinet by means of a vote of no-confidence (Constitution of Latvia, Article 59).
Legislative branch
The unicameral Parliament (SaeimaSaeima
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,...
) has 100 members, elected for a four year term by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
with a 5% threshold. The parliamentary elections are held on the first Saturday of October. Locally, Latvia elects municipal councils, consisting of 7 to 60 members, depending on the size of the municipality, also by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
for a four year term.
Political parties and elections
Judicial branch
Judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament and are irrevocable, except on the decision of the Judicial Disciplinary Board or on the judgment of a criminal court. There is a special Constitutional Court, with the authority to rule on the constitutionality of laws, whose members must be confirmed by an absolute majority vote of Parliament, by secret ballot.International organization participation
BISBank for International Settlements
The Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...
, CBSS, CE
Council 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...
, EAPC
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council , a NATO institution, is a multilateral forum created to improve relations between NATO and non-NATO countries in Europe and those parts of Asia on the European periphery. The member states meet to cooperate and consult on a range of political and security issues...
, EBRD, ECE
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. It is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations headquarters. It has 56 member states, and reports to the UN Economic and...
, EU
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...
, FAO
Fão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
, IAEA, IBRD
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
, ICAO, ICC
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
, ICRM
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
, IDA
International Development Association
The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...
, IFC
International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
, IFRCS, ILO
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
, IMF
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, IMO
International Maritime Organization
The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...
, ITUC
International Trade Union Confederation
The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...
, Intelsat
Intelsat
Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...
(nonsignatory user), Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
, IOC, IOM
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
(observer), ISO
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
(correspondent), ITU
Itu
Itu is an old and historic municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2009 was 157,384 and the area is 641.68 km². The elevation is 583 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language, meaning big waterfall. Itu is linked with the highway numbered the SP-75 and are flowed...
, NATO, NSG
Nuclear Suppliers Group
Nuclear Suppliers Group is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.- History :It was founded in...
, OAS
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
(observer), OPCW, OSCE
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, UNIDO
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...
, UPU
Upu
Upu, also called Apu , was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named Dimašqu/Dimasqu/ etc. Upu, also called Apu (and Ubi or Upi by some authors), was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named Dimašqu/Dimasqu/ etc. Upu,...
, WCO
World Customs Organization
The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community...
, WEU (associate partner), WHO
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WTrO (applicant)