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Einars Repše (born 9 December 1961) is a
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 ...
n physicist, financier and politician, chairman of the Association for Latvian Development.


Biography

Einars Repše graduated from Latvia State University (now known as
University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...
) in 1986 with a degree in
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...
(specialisation – radio electronics). He first entered politics in 1988 as one of the founders of the Latvian National Independence Movement (LNNK), a political organization promoting Latvia's independence from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. He was elected to the
parliament of Latvia 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 popula ...
in 1990. From 1991 to 2001, Repše was the president of the Bank of Latvia (Latvia's central bank). During this period, he oversaw the introduction of the Latvian rouble, Latvia's temporary transition currency and the
Lats Lats or LATS may refer to: * Latissimus dorsi muscle * Latvian lats, former currency of Latvia * Latin American Test Symposium of test and fault tolerance technologists * Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, a UK scheme to reduce biodegradable waste ...
, independent Latvia's new currency. Under Repše, the Bank of Latvia pursued a tight
monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money supply, often ...
, implementing a de facto
currency board In public finance, a currency board is a monetary authority which is required to maintain a fixed exchange rate with a foreign currency. This policy objective requires the conventional objectives of a central bank to be subordinated to the exc ...
for the Lats. As a result, the exchange rate of the lat has been stable since the early 1990s till now. Inflation was brought down from almost 1000% initially to low single digits within a few years. The success of the Lats made Repše very popular in Latvia. In 2001, Repše resigned from the Bank of Latvia to return to politics. He founded the
New Era Party The New Era Party ( lv, Jaunais laiks, 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 P ...
, a
Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develope ...
anti-corruption party. After the
2002 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2002. * 2002 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2002 Comorian presidential election * 2002 East Timorese presidential election * 2002 Fijian municipal election * 2002 Hong Kong Chief Executive election * ...
, Repše became the
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 obt ...
in November 2002. He led a coalition of his own New Era Party, the Latvia's First Party, the Union of Greens and Farmers and
For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK ( lv, Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK, abbreviated to TB/LNNK) was a free-market, national conservative political party in Latvia. In 2011, it dissolved and merged into the National Alliance. The party was founded ...
. Repše's government became known for an outspoken fight against corruption and
tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...
. Several high-ranked government officials, including the head of Latvia's state revenue service, were fired or resigned. The anti-corruption measures resulted in some success, as the revenues from the gasoline tax, previously notorious for tax evasion, increased by 30% in one year. The revenues from other taxes, however, were not significantly different, compared to the previous governments, and some of the anti-corruption measures backfired (for example, some of the fired officials successfully sued the Latvian government for wrongful dismissal). Repše's government also implemented a tight control on
budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environme ...
expenses, reducing the
budget deficit Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit; the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budget ...
from 3% of GDP in 2002 to 1.8% in 2003. Starting in September 2003, a conflict between Repše and the Latvia First Party, one of his coalition partners, became apparent. Repše blamed the conflict on vested interests resisting his anti-corruption plans. The coalition partners mentioned Repše's authoritarian management style and unofficially delegating many of his powers as prime minister to his chief of staff Dans Titavs as the main reason for the conflict. Repše's government became a minority administration in January 2004 after the Latvia First Party left the government. He and his cabinet resigned in February 2004. After being in opposition during
Indulis Emsis Indulis Emsis (born 2 January 1952) 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 Latvia ...
government, the New Era Party joined the Aigars Kalvītis coalition government in December 2004, with Repše becoming the
minister of defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
. During his service, however, he at times was portrayed by the press as more involved in his hobbies and business, than in governmental activities, losing popularity among the electorate. In 2003, Repše bought real estate at various locations in rural Latvia for a total of 323 718 lats (approx. 500 000 euros). His real estate purchases were funded by loans from two Latvian banks, Hansabanka and Nord/LB Latvia. Repše's opponents immediately questioned his real estate deals, claiming that Repše has used his position to obtain loans on conditions better than those available to the general public. His deals were investigated by a special committee of the Latvian parliament. In December 2005, a criminal probe was started by the
Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB; lv, Korupcijas novēršanas un apkarošanas birojs) is a specialised anti-corruption authority of Latvia. Its aim is to fight corruption in Latvia in a coordinated and comprehensive way through ...
. Due to this investigation, Repše resigned from his position as the minister of defence, even though he was never officially declared a suspect under the case. On 12 October 2007 KNAB closed the criminal probe – no wrongdoing was discovered. Repše's real estate deals, confrontational management style and somewhat flamboyant lifestyle led to a major decline in his popularity. In 1999 and 2000, Repše was one of the most trusted politicians in Latvia, with 75%–80% Latvians having a positive opinion of him. By the time of his resignation in 2005, he was the least popular minister in the Latvian government. Repše was
Minister of Finance of Latvia The Minister of Finance of Latvia is a member of the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia, and is the political leader of the Ministry of Finance of Latvia. Arvils Ašeradens is the current officeholder since 14 December 2022. Ministers from 1926 to ...
from 12 March 2009 to 3 November 2010, during the toughest time right after the world credit crisis. He brought down the deficits ruthlessly, put the state finances in order, and paved the way for Latvia to join the euro which was accomplished during the next government. In 2013 Repše returned to active politics and founded society, later transformed into political party "
For Latvia's Development For Latvia's Development ( lv, Latvijas attīstībai, abbr. LA) is a liberal political party in Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ...
". After unsuccessful parliamentary elections in October 2014, Repše completely retired from politics. As to his hobbies, he is known to be interested in
flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ''Flying'' (UFO album), 1971 * ''Fl ...
, aircraft building, painting and mountaineering.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Repse, Einars 1961 births Living people People from Jelgava Latvian National Independence Movement politicians New Era Party politicians New Unity politicians For Latvia's Development politicians Prime Ministers of Latvia Ministers of Defence of Latvia Ministers of Finance of Latvia Deputies of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia Deputies of the 8th Saeima Deputies of the 9th Saeima Governors of the Bank of Latvia People of the Singing Revolution Riga State Gymnasium No.1 alumni University of Latvia alumni