Aivars Lembergs

Aivars Lembergs (born September 26, 1953 in Jēkabpils ) is a Latvian politician, entrepreneur and oligarch . He has been the mayor of Ventspils since 1988 .

Life

After attending school in Jēkabpils, Aivars Lembergs graduated in 1977 with a degree in economics from the University of Latvia in Riga . He was a member of the Latvian Communist Party and became one of its functionaries in Ventspils. He was elected Mayor of Ventspils for the first time in 1988 and has been re-elected five times since then.

In 1994 Lembergs founded his own political party "Latvijai un Ventspilij" ( For Latvia and Ventspils ). This party managed to dominate the local political scene for a long time, winning local elections in 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013.

Aivars Lembergs is one of the richest citizens of Latvia. In March 2007, he was arrested and charged with bribery, money laundering and abuse of power. He spent four months in custody in Riga. In July 2007, he was under house arrest.

Lembergs is revered by its followers as the "Angel of Ventspils". The electoral alliance Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība , which Lviv's regional party "Latvijai un Ventspilij" is accustomed to join in national elections, named him in 2010 - unsuccessfully - as a candidate for the office of Latvian Prime Minister.

Lviv is one of the advocates of Russia's economic interests in Latvia. In 2017 he campaigned to accept Gazprom's offer to make the port of Ventspils the main base for laying the pipes for the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline . The Latvian Foreign Ministry, on the other hand, opposes this, fearing that if Gazprom controls an important sector of Latvian infrastructure, it could be used by Russia to exert political pressure.

Awards

Lembergs was awarded the Latvian three-star order, third class, in 2000 .

Individual evidence

↑ Elmar Römpczyk: Klondike Baltikum or the real transformation process . Haag + Herchen, Hanau 2010, ISBN 978-3-89846-593-9 , p. 65.
↑ Elmar Römpczyk: Klondike Baltikum or the real transformation process . Haag + Herchen, Hanau 2010, p. 66.
↑ Latvian mayor to receive compensation , Alfa.lt, September 3, 2008 (English), viewed on August 19, 2011.
↑ Aivars Lviv's “Scholarship Holders”: The Latvian Way of Political Landscape Management, Latvian Press Review, December 15, 2009, viewed on August 30, 2012.
↑ Šlesers: Zīle, Lembergs un Urbanovičs nav nopietni premjera amata kandidāti , nra.lv of August 13, 2010 (Latvian), viewed on August 19, 2011.
^ Rudolf Hermann: Moscow lures the Latvians. Gazprom is offering a lot of money to the port of Ventspils. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of April 24, 2017, p. 6.

Web links

Biography (Latvian, viewed August 19, 2011)

personal data
SURNAME	Lembergs, Aivars
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Latvian politician and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH	September 26, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH	Jēkabpils , Latvian SSR

[1] Elmar Römpczyk: Klondike Baltikum or the real transformation process . Haag + Herchen, Hanau 2010, ISBN 978-3-89846-593-9 , p. 65.

[2] Elmar Römpczyk: Klondike Baltikum or the real transformation process . Haag + Herchen, Hanau 2010, p. 66.

[3] Latvian mayor to receive compensation , Alfa.lt, September 3, 2008 (English), viewed on August 19, 2011.

[4] Aivars Lviv's “Scholarship Holders”: The Latvian Way of Political Landscape Management, Latvian Press Review, December 15, 2009, viewed on August 30, 2012.

[5] Šlesers: Zīle, Lembergs un Urbanovičs nav nopietni premjera amata kandidāti , nra.lv of August 13, 2010 (Latvian), viewed on August 19, 2011.

[6] Rudolf Hermann: Moscow lures the Latvians. Gazprom is offering a lot of money to the port of Ventspils. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of April 24, 2017, p. 6.