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Karlis Ulmanis

Kārlis Ulmanis (September 4, 1877 - September 20, 1942) was the most prominent politician in pre-World War II Latvia.

He studied agriculture in ETH Zurich, Switzerland and Leipzig University, Germany and then worked in Latvia as an agriculture writer, lecturer, and manager. He was politically active during 1905 Revolution, and was arrested and left Latvia for several years afterward to avoid a second arrest. During this period, he studied agriculture in University of Nebraska and briefly worked there as a lecturer. He returned to Latvia in 1913, after Russian tsar granting an amnesty.

He was one of founders of Latvian People's Council (Tautas Padome), which proclaimed Latvia's independence on November 18, 1918. He then became the first prime minister of Latvia. Ulmanis also founded the Latvian Farmer's Union, one of two most prominent political parties in Latvia of that time and was prime minister in several goverments between 1918 and 1940.

On May 15, 1934, the prime minister Kārlis Ulmanis dissolved the parliament and established an authoritarian government. He allowed the president Alberts Kviesis to serve the rest of term until 1936, after which Ulmanis proclaimed himself president, in addition to being prime minister.

In 1940, Latvia was occupied by Soviet Union. Ulmanis ordered Latvians to show no resistance to the Soviet Army. The phrase "I will remain in my place and you remain in your places" from his radio speech on this occasion is still famous. Soon, he was arrested by the Soviets and died in a prison in Krasnovodsk (now in Turkmenistan) during World War II.

Ulmanis remains a controversial figure in Latvia. Some Latvians view him as a symbol of pre-World War II Latvia and credit him for its prosperity. Others think that a dictator cannot be a positive figure, even if his rule was a relatively prosperous one. A sign of Ulmanis still being very popular in Latvia is that his grand-nephew Guntis Ulmanis was elected president in 1993.

External links

  • Karlis Ulmanis postal stamp http://www.riga.post.lv/markas/engl/2001/id_103e.htm
  • Biography in Latvian http://www.historia.lv/alfabets/U/ul/ulmanis/ulmanis.htm
Preceded by:
Alberts Kviesis
President of Latvia Succeeded by:
Soviet occupation1

1 - Anatolijs Gorbunovs assumed presidential duties upon the restoration of Latvian independence in 1990.



Last updated: 02-10-2005 09:58:34
Last updated: 05-03-2005 17:50:55