Aivars Endziņš (8 December 1940 – 21 November 2023) was a Latvian lawyer and politician. He graduated from the

University of Latvia University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on Se ...

in 1968 and in 1977 attained a candidate of legal sciences degree. In 1997 he became a Doctor of Jurisprudence. He has worked as a lecturer at the University of Latvia and at the Turība School of Business Administration. He was a member of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

from 1963 to 1990, when he became a member of the

Popular Front of Latvia The Popular Front of Latvia () was a political organisation in Latvia in the late 1980s and early 1990s which led Latvia to its independence from the Soviet Union. It was similar to the Popular Front of Estonia and the Sąjūdis movement in Li ...

and a member of the

Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia The Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republikas Augstākā Padome) was the transitional parliament of Latvia from 1990 to 1993, after the restoration of independence. The Supreme Council was elected on 1990 as the S ...

. He was for a short time a member of

Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (, LSDSP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic list of political parties in Latvia, political party in Latvia and the second oldest existing Latvian political party after the Latvian Farmers' Uni ...

, and in 1993 became a member of

Latvian Way Latvian Way () was a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in Latvia, political party in Latvia. It merged with Latvia's First Party to form the Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way (LPP/LC) in 2007. It described it ...

. He was a member of the 5th and 6th

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, 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 p ...

s, but resigned in 1996 to become a judge on the Constitutional Court of Latvia. He became the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court in 2000 and left this office in 2007. He was a presidential candidate in the

2007 Latvian presidential election A presidential election was held in the Latvian Saeima on 31 May 2007. The government candidate Valdis Zatlers defeated Aivars Endziņš. Nominations Before the governing coalition had agreed on Zatlers as a candidate, the People's Party h ...

, nominated by Harmony Centre and supported by the

New Era Party The New Era Party (, 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. New Era was a member of the European People's Party (EPP), and ...

and the political alliance For Human Rights in a United Latvia. After a passionate debate over his membership of the Communist Party, which included a revelation that in the 1970s he had denied the

occupation of Latvia Latvia has been occupied by military forces from other nations from time to time. Military occupations of Latvia have included: * Livonian Crusade (13th century) * Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 * Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany (1941� ...

, he lost the election to

Valdis Zatlers Valdis Zatlers (; born 22 March 1955) 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. He became President of Latvia on 8 July ...

. Endziņš died on 21 November 2023, at the age of 82.

References

1940 births 2023 deaths Lawyers from Riga Communist Party of Latvia politicians Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party politicians Latvian Way politicians Deputies of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia Deputies of the 5th Saeima Deputies of the 6th Saeima Candidates for President of Latvia Judges of the Constitutional Court of Latvia Latvian legal scholars University of Latvia alumni Politicians from Riga 20th-century Latvian judges 21st-century Latvian judges {{Latvia-politician-stub