Arturs Alberings (8 January 1876 – 26 April 1934) was the 6th

Prime Minister of Latvia The prime minister of Latvia () 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 p ...

. He held office from 7 May 1926 to 18 December 1926.

Personal life

Alberings was born on 8 January 1876 to a family of farmers in

Rūjiena Rūjiena (; ; ) is a town in Valmiera Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. As of 2017 its population was 3,007. Geography The town is located in northern Latvia, near the border with Estonia, in the historical region of Vidzeme (ancientl ...

Kreis Wolmar Valmiera county (, , ) was a historic county of Latvia. Its capital was Valmiera (''Wolmar''). History The county of Valmiera was created during the administrative territorial reform of the Governorate of Riga in 1783 by merging of parishes fr ...

, in the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

. His father was Virķēni "Klāvās. After graduating from Vilkene Primary School and Kharkiv Agricultural High School, he studied

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and also improved his knowledge of fish farming in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, he worked as the director of the School of Agriculture and Fish Farming, as well as the manager of manors. After returning to Latvia, he started leading courses at the Riga Central Agricultural Association, and he founded and managed animal monitoring associations in the

and

Valmiera Valmiera () is the second largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020, it was at 24,879. It is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city, and ...

areas. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

in 1917, Alberings began to be involved in politics. In August, 1918, he was elected a member of the Vidzeme Land Council. In November, as a representative of the Latvian Farmers Union, he became a member of the

People's Council of Latvia The People's Council of Latvia (, LTP) was a temporary council which declared Latvia's independence on November 18, 1918 and then acted as the temporary parliament of the country until a Constitutional Assembly was elected. The People's Council ...

Political career

Alberings was elected to the

Constitutional Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

in 1922 and served on commissions of inquiry into agricultural affairs and treason. In Parliament, its first chairman was Frīdriha Vesmaņa. The 2nd member of the 2nd

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 ...

was

Pauls Kalniņš Pauls Kalniņš (3 March 1872 – 26 August 1945) was a Latvian physician and politician (LSDSP), a long-term Speaker of the Saeima, one of the signatories of the Memorandum of the Latvian Central Council in 17 March 1944, and was the Acting Pre ...

. In Parliament, its first chairman was Frīdriha Vesmaņa. Alberings ran and was elected in the 3rd Saeima elections. He was the Minister of Agriculture in the cabinet of

Hugo Celmiņš Hugo Celmiņš (30 October 1877 – 30 July 1941) was a Latvian politician, a public employee, agronomist, twice the Prime Minister of Latvia (''19 December 1924 – 23 December 1925, and 1 December 1928 – 26 March 1931''). Arrested and deporte ...

and the government of

Kārlis Ulmanis Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis (; 4 September 1877 – 20 September 1942) was a Latvian politician and a dictator. He was one of the most prominent Latvian politicians of pre-World War II Latvia during the Interwar period of independence from N ...

. In May 1926, after the government headed by Ulmanis resigned due to the unaccepted budget, his cabinet was formed. In September, Alberings also took over the duties of the

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

due to the resignation of the former Minister Jānis Blumbers. In December, the Saeima asked Prime Minister Alberings why no new Minister of Finance had been found, to which he replied that he had assumed the post of Minister of Finance instead of performing his duties. The majority of Parliament found this explanation unsatisfactory and the government resigned. Since the autumn semester of 1926, he has been an honorary philister of the student association "Fraternitas Rusticana". Alberings was awarded the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

2nd Class, the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

etc.

Death

Artur Alberings died in Riga on 26 April 1934, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alberings, Arturs 1876 births 1934 deaths People from Rūjiena People from Valmiera county Latvian Farmers' Union politicians Prime ministers of Latvia Ministers of finance of Latvia Members of the People's Council of Latvia Deputies of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia Deputies of the 1st Saeima Deputies of the 2nd Saeima Deputies of the 3rd Saeima Order of the White Rose of Finland