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Republic Of Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the Baltic states; and is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of , with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts; and speak Latvian, one of the only two surviving Baltic languages. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population. After centuries of Teutonic, Swedish, Polish-Lithuanian and Russian rule, which was mainly executed by the local Baltic German aristocracy, the independent Repub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dievs, Svētī Latviju!
"" (; "God Bless Latvia!") is the national anthem of Latvia. Created in 1873 as a patriotic song, it did not gain official status until 1920. History and composition The music and lyrics were written in 1873 by Kārlis Baumanis, a teacher who was part of the Young Latvian nationalist movement. It has been speculated that Baumanis may have borrowed part of the lyrics from a popular song that was sung to tune of "God Save the Queen", modified them and set them to music of his own. Baumanis's lyrics were different from the modern ones: he used the term "Baltics" synonymously and interchangeably with "Latvia" and "Latvians", so "Latvia" was actually mentioned only at the beginning of the first verse. Later, the term "Latvia" was removed and replaced with "Baltics" to avoid a ban on the song. This has led to the misapprehension that the term "Latvia" was not part of the song until 1920, when it was chosen as national anthem, and the word "Baltics" was replaced with "Latvia". Duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evangelical Lutheran Church Of Latvia
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca, or LELB) is a Lutheran Protestant church in Latvia. Latvia's Lutheran heritage dates back to the Reformation. Both the Nazi and communist regimes persecuted the church harshly before religious freedom returned to Latvia in 1988. In contrast to Estonia, where state atheism reduced the once 80% Lutheran majority to barely 10% by 2011, the Latvian Lutheran church saw its membership drop to around 20% but has recovered and now includes approximately 30% of the population. The church reports having 250,000 members according to the Lutheran World Federation. History The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia sees itself as being in a continuous tradition of Christian life since the earliest recorded Christian missionary work in the area, in the 12th century. Latvia was highly influenced by the Reformation and the style of Lutheran church which emerged followed the more Protestant German-type L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saeima
The 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, normally on the first Saturday of October. The most recent elections were held in October 2022. The President of Latvia can dismiss the Saeima and request early elections. The procedure for dismissing it involves substantial political risk to the president, including a risk of loss of office. On 28 May 2011 president Valdis Zatlers decided to initiate the dissolution of the Saeima, which was approved in a referendum, and the Saeima was dissolved on 23 July 2011. The current Speaker of the Saeima is Edvards Smiltēns of the United List party. History and etymology The Saeima traces its origins to the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland, which led to the creation of the Sejm (S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ināra Mūrniece
Ināra Mūrniece (born 30 December 1970) is a Latvian journalist, politician and a member of Saeima. She was Speaker of the Saeima from 2014 to 2022. In 2022 she was succeeded by Edvards Smiltēns. Biography In 2007, she graduated from the School of Economics and Culture and in 2009, graduated from the University of Latvia. She worked as a journalist for the newspaper ''Latvijas Avīze'', stopped working there in August 2011. Political activities In 2011, Mūrniece ran in the 11th Saeima elections from the list of the National Aliance and was elected to the Saeima. She worked in the Saeima as the Chairperson of the Human Rights and Public Affairs Commission. In 2014, she was elected to the 12th Saeima and became the Speaker of the Saeima The Speaker of the Saeima ( lv, Saeimas priekšsēdētājs; lit. "Chairperson of the Saeima") is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Latvia, the Saeima. If the President of Latvia resigns from office, dies or is removed from offi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speaker Of The Saeima
The Speaker of the Saeima ( lv, Saeimas priekšsēdētājs; lit. "Chairperson of the Saeima") is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Latvia, the Saeima. If the President of Latvia resigns from office, dies or is removed from office before their term has ended, the Speaker of the Saeima shall assume the duties of the President until the Saeima has elected a new President. Similarly, the Speaker of the Saeima shall assume the duties of the President if the latter is away from Latvia or for any other reason unable to fulfil the duties of office. The Speaker of the Saeima must be elected at the first meeting of the current convocation of the Saeima. List of speakers Speakers of the Saeima (1922-1934) Parties Chairman of the Supreme Council (1990-1993) Parties Speakers of the Saeima (after 1993) Parties Timeline ImageSize = width:250 height:1200 PlotArea = width:50 height:1180 left:50 bottom:10 DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:1922 till: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krišjānis Kariņš
Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš (born 13 December 1964) is an American-Latvian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Latvia since 2019. A linguist and businessperson by profession, he previously served as Latvia's Minister of Economics and a Member of the European Parliament. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, to parents who had left Latvia during the Soviet occupation, he was active in the American Latvian community throughout his youth. After graduating with a bachelor's degree ''summa cum laude'' and PhD in linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania, Kariņš moved to Latvia in 1997 and founded a frozen food business. He helped found the New Era Party in 2002, which in 2011 merged with others to form the Unity Party (renamed New Unity in 2018). After serving as a deputy in Latvia's parliament (the Saeima), as Minister of Economics, and also as a Member of the European Parliament throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Kariņš was selected by New Unity to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister Of Latvia
The prime minister of Latvia ( lv, ministru prezidents) is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The officeholder is nominated by the president of Latvia, but must be able to obtain the support of a parliamentary majority in the Saeima. The tables below display all Latvian prime ministers from both the first period of Latvian independence (1918–1940) and since the country regained its independence (1990–present). From 1990 to 6 July 1993, the head of government was known as the chairman of the Council of Ministers. A direct translation of the official Latvian term is minister-president. Although the equivalent is used in some European languages, it is not used conventionally in English. List 1918-1940 Political Party: 1940-1990 JANIS (VILIS) LACIS (1940-1959) Jānis Peive (1959-1963) Vitālijs Rubenis (1963-1970) Jurijs Rubenis (1970-1988) Vilnis Edvīns Bresis (1988-1990) 1990-pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egils Levits
Egils Levits (born 30 June 1955) is a Latvian politician, lawyer, political scientist and jurist who has served as the tenth president of Latvia since 8 July 2019. He was a member of the European Court of Justice from 2004 to 2019. During the late Soviet-era, he was a member of the Popular Front of Latvia and contributed to the declaration of restored Latvian independence in 1990. He was vice-prime minister and minister for justice of Latvia from 1993 to 1994 and ambassador to Hungary, Austria and Switzerland from 1994 to 1995. He was then appointed a judge of the European Court of Human Rights, a position he held until 2004. He finished second in the indirect election for the president of Latvia in 2015, behind Raimonds Vējonis. Although an Independent, he was the candidate of the National Alliance. In 2018, Levits was reappointed a judge of the European Court of Justice, having first been appointed in 2004. He is married and has two children: a son, Linards, and daughter, I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
President Of Latvia
The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezidents ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia. The term of office is four years. Before 1999, it was three years. The president may be elected any number of times, but not more than twice in a row. In the event of the vacancy in the office of the president, the speaker of the Saeima assumes the duties of the president. For example, after the death of Jānis Čakste the speaker of the Saeima, Pauls Kalniņš, was acting president briefly in 1927, before a new president could be elected. Unlike his Estonian counterpart, the Latvian president's role is not entirely ceremonial. However, the president is not as powerful as the president of Lithuania. Unlike in Estonia, the president shares executive power with the cabinet and prime minister. However, the president is not politically responsible for carrying out all duties, and all presidential orders must be countersigned by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unitary Parliamentary Republic
A unitary parliamentary republic refers to a unitary state with a republican form of government in which the political power is vested in and entrusted to the parliament with confidence Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ... by its electorate. List of unitary parliamentary republics See also * Federal parliamentary republic Notes References {{portalbar, politics Unitary state Republic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religion In Latvia
The main religion traditionally practiced in Latvia is Christianity. , it is the largest religion (68%), though only about 7% of the population attends religious services regularly. Lutheranism is the main Christian denomination among ethnic Latvians due to strong historical links with the Nordic countries and Northern Germany (see Hanseatic League), while Catholicism is most prevalent in eastern Latvia ( Latgale), mostly due to Polish influence. The Latvian Orthodox Church is the third largest Christian church in Latvia, with adherents primarily among the Russian-speaking minority. History Latvia was one of the last regions in Europe to be Christianized. The inhabitants of the region that is now Latvia once practiced Finnic paganism and Baltic mythology, but this practice gradually diminished through the course of the centuries. In the 12th to 13th centuries Latvia first became part of the Catholic Church, as the Christian kings of Denmark, Sweden and the North Germa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irreligion
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and antitheism. Social scientists tend to define irreligion as a purely naturalist worldview that excludes a belief in anything supernatural. The broadest and loosest definition, serving as an upper limit, is the lack of religious identification, though many non-identifiers express metaphysical and even religious beliefs. The narrowest and strictest is subscribing to positive atheism. According to the Pew Research Center's 2012 global study of 230 countries and territories, 16% of the world's population does not identify with any religion. The population of the religiously unaffiliated, sometimes referred to as "nones", has grown significantly in recent years. Measurement of irreligiosity requires great cultural sensitivity, especially outs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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