Ivars Godmanis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ivars Godmanis
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 Godmanis (left) greets Ambassador Chuck Larson of the United States, January 2009 |
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| In office 20 December 2007 – 12 March 2009 |
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| President | Valdis Zatlers |
| Preceded by | Aigars Kalvītis |
| Succeeded by | Valdis Dombrovskis |
| In office 7 May 1990 – 3 August 1993 |
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| President | Guntis Ulmanis |
| Preceded by | Vilnis-Edvīns Bresis |
| Succeeded by | Valdis Birkavs |
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| Born | 27 November 1951 Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Political party | Latvian Way |
Ivars Godmanis (born 27 November 1951) is a Latvian politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Latvia after the country became independent from the Soviet Union, and he became a Prime Minister for the second time in December 2007.
Godmanis served as Prime Minister from 1990 to 1993, focusing primarily on Latvia's difficult economic transition from a communist to a capitalist economy. In 1995 Godmanis was awarded with the Order of the Three Stars.[1] He later served as the Finance Minister 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 party. In November 2006, following elections in which the Latvian Way in coalition with Latvia's First Party returned to Parliament, Godmanis became the Minister of the Interior.
On 14 December 2007, Godmanis was nominated as Prime Minister by President Valdis Zatlers.[2] He was approved by the parliament on December 20, with 54 votes in favor and 43 in opposition.[3]
On 18 June 2008, he was injured in a car accident.[4] On 19 September 2008 he replaced Roger Taylor at drums with Queen + Paul Rodgers' performance of "All Right Now" in a concert in Riga.[5][6]
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.[7] On 20 February 2009, Godmanis resigned as Prime Minister along with the rest of his government over concerns about handling the economic crisis.[8] On February 26, 2009, President Valdis Zatlers appointed former finance minister Valdis Dombrovskis as the new prime minister; he was sworn in on 12 March 2009.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ "Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis" (in Latvian). gramata21.lv. http://www.gramata21.lv/3zvg1.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-02.
- ^ "Godmanis nominated for prime minister", The Baltic Times, 19 December 2007.
- ^ "Latvia’s old coalition back in power", Reuters (The Peninsula Online), 21 December 2007.
- ^ "Latvian PM fractures skull in Riga car accident", AFP (Canada.com), Wednesday, 18 June 2008.
- ^ "Queen + Ivars Godmanis". Queen Productions. 22 September 2008. http://www.queenonline.com/qpr/news/734/. Retrieved on 21 February 2009.
- ^ "Queen News September 2008". Brianmay.com. http://www.brianmay.com/queen/queennews/queennewssep08c.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-22.
- ^ "/ Europe - Latvian poll threat after rioting". Ft.com. 2009-01-14. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/34cc61da-e215-11dd-b1dd-0000779fd2ac.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-22.
- ^ "Latvian PM quits as crisis bites". BBC News. 20 February 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7901902.stm. Retrieved on 20 February 2009.
- ^ "Dombrovskis chosen as Latvian PM". BBC News. 26 February 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7911983.stm. Retrieved on 26 February 2009.
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Vilnis-Edvīns Bresis as Chairman of the Council of Latvian SSR |
Prime Minister of Latvia 1990 – 1993 |
Succeeded by Valdis Birkavs |
| Preceded by Aigars Kalvītis |
Prime Minister of Latvia 2007 – 2009 |
Succeeded by Valdis Dombrovskis |
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