Ivars Godmanis (born 27 November 1951) is a

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n politician who served as the

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 ...

from 1990 to 1993 and again from 2007 to 2009. He was the first prime minister of Latvia after the country restored its independence from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Political career

Godmanis served as prime minister from 1990 to 1993, focusing primarily on Latvia's difficult economic transition from planned to

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...

. In 1995 Godmanis 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 ...

. He later served as 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 ...

from 1998 to 1999. He was originally associated with the Latvian Popular Front, but after the Front ceased to exist he moved to the

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 ...

party. In November 2006, following elections in which the Latvian Way in coalition with

Latvia's First Party The Latvia's First Party () was a socially conservative, Christian-democratic right-wing political party in Latvia. It merged with Latvian Way to form Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way in 2007. It was founded on 25 May 2002, led by Ēriks J ...

returned to Parliament, Godmanis became the Minister of the Interior. On 14 December 2007, Godmanis was nominated as prime minister by President

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 ...

. He was approved by the parliament on 20 December, with 54 votes in favor and 43 in opposition. On 18 June 2008 he suffered head injuries in a car accident when his official limousine was involved in a collision with a small bus. On 19 September 2008 he replaced Roger Taylor on drums during

Queen + Paul Rodgers Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * ...

' performance of "

All Right Now "All Right Now" is a song by English rock band Free, released on their third studio album, '' Fire and Water'' (1970). It was released by Island Records, a record label founded by Chris Blackwell. Released as the album's second single, "All R ...

" at a concert in Riga. Economic problems and corruption charges caused the popularity of Godmanis's government to plummet. In January 2009, anti-government protests turned into the worst riots the country has seen since re-gaining independence in 1991. On 20 February 2009, Godmanis resigned as prime minister along with the rest of his government over concerns about handling the economic crisis. On 26 February 2009, President

appointed former finance minister

Valdis Dombrovskis Valdis Dombrovskis (; born 5 August 1971) is a Latvian politician serving as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People since 2019 and European Commissioner for Trade since 2020. He previously serv ...

as the new prime minister; he was sworn in on 12 March 2009. In autumn 2013 Godmanis expressed his wish to join the Latvian Farmers' Union to run on its list in next year's European Parliament elections, but the LZS board rejected the former head of government's wish. Godmanis joined the party “United for Latvia” led by Ainārs Šlesers, and unsuccessfully ran on its list of 12 candidates. On 5 June 2018, he was succeeded by Ivars Kalviņš, and Godmanis remained on the company's Supervisory Board until 4 September. He was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, Second Class, and the 1991 Barricades Participant Commemorative Badge.

References

External links

Government of Latvia, The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia: Prime Minister
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godmanis, Ivars 1951 births Living people People from Riga Politicians from Riga Popular Front of Latvia politicians Latvian Way politicians Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way politicians Prime ministers of Latvia Ministers of the interior of Latvia Ministers of finance of Latvia Deputies of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia Deputies of the 7th Saeima Deputies of the 9th Saeima Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way MEPs MEPs for Latvia 2009–2014 People of the Singing Revolution Riga State Gymnasium No.1 alumni University of Latvia alumni Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class

Political career

See also

References

External links