Valdis Birkavs
Valdis Birkavs (born July 28, 1942 in Rīga ) is a Latvian politician.
Birkavs was elected to the Latvian parliament for the first time in 1990 and was a co-founder of the Latvijas Ceļš party ( Latvia's Way ). After his party had won the parliamentary elections in 1993, he led a government coalition of Latvijas Ceļš and Latvijas Zemnieku Savienība , the Latvian farmers' association, as prime minister . In the summer of 1994 the farmers' association left the government and Birkavs had to resign. He then became Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in the next government . He remained Foreign Minister under four different heads of government until 1999.
In 1999 Valdis Birkavs ran in the elections for president , who is elected by the parliament in Latvia, but failed. He then served as Minister of Justice until 2002.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Ivars Godmanis |
Prime Minister of Latvia August 3, 1993 - September 15, 1994 |
Māris Gailis |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Birkavs, Valdis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Latvian politician, member of the Saeima |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 28, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Riga |