|
Latvia (other)
Latvia ( , ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Lețmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Lețmō Vabāmō, links=no), 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, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of , with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian, one of the only two surviving Baltic languages. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population. After centuries of Teutonic, Swedish, Polish-Lithuanian, and Russian rule, which was mainly implemented through the local Baltic German aristocracy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dievs, Svētī Latviju!
"" (; "God Bless Latvia!") is the national anthem of Latvia. Created in 1873 as a patriotic song, it did not gain official status until 1920. History and composition The music and lyrics were written in 1873 by Kārlis Baumanis, a teacher who was part of the Young Latvians, Young Latvian nationalist movement. It has been speculated that Baumanis may have borrowed part of the lyrics from a popular song that was sung to tune of "God Save the Queen", modified them and set them to music of his own. Baumanis's lyrics were different from the modern ones: he used the term "Baltic governorates, Baltics" synonymously and interchangeably with "Latvia" and "Latvians", so "Latvia" was actually mentioned only at the beginning of the first verse. Later, the term "Latvia" was removed and replaced with "Baltics" to avoid a ban on the song. This has led to the misapprehension that the term "Latvia" was not part of the song until 1920, when it was chosen as national anthem, and the word "Baltics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evangelical Lutheran Church Of Latvia
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca, or LELB) is a Lutheran Protestant church in Latvia. Latvia's Lutheran heritage dates back to the Reformation. Both the Nazi and communist regimes persecuted the church harshly before religious freedom returned to Latvia in 1988. In contrast to Estonia, where state atheism reduced the once 80% Lutheran majority to barely 10% by 2011, the Latvian Lutheran church saw its membership drop to around 20% but has recovered and now includes approximately 30% of the population. The church reports having 250,000 members according to the Lutheran World Federation. History The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia sees itself as being in a continuous tradition of Christian life since the earliest recorded Christian missionary work in the area, in the 12th century. Latvia was highly influenced by the Reformation and the style of Lutheran church which emerged followed the more Protestant German-type ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saeima
The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the popular vote. Elections are scheduled to be held once every four years, normally on the first Saturday of October. The most recent elections were held in 2022 Latvian parliamentary election, October 2022. The President of Latvia can dismiss the Saeima and request early elections. The Parliamentary dissolution power of Latvian President, procedure for dismissing it involves substantial political risk to the president, including a risk of loss of office. On 28 May 2011 president Valdis Zatlers decided to initiate the dissolution of the Saeima, which was approved in a 2011 Latvian parliamentary dissolution referendum, referendum, and the Saeima was dissolved on 23 July 2011. The current Speaker of the Saeima is Edvards Smiltēns of the United ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daiga Mieriņa
Daiga Mieriņa (née Cekule; born 3 March 1969) is a Latvian politician who has been serving as the Speaker of the Saeima since 20 September 2023. Life Daiga Mieriņa studied at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. From 2009 until 2015 and from 2016 until 2021, she was Council chairperson of Carnikava Municipality. During the 2022 parliamentary election, she was elected as a member of the Latvian parliament for its 14th term and she represents the Latvian Farmers' Union. She became chair of the committee for local government and state administration. In September 2023, she was nominated Speaker of the Saeima The Speaker of the Saeima ( lv, Saeimas priekšsēdētājs; literal translation, lit. "Chairperson of the Saeima") is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Parliament of Latvia, the Saeima. If the President of Latvia resigns from offi ... after the Parliament first refused to vote in Gunārs Kūtris. She was elected on September 20 by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speaker Of The Saeima
The Speaker of the Saeima ( lv, Saeimas priekšsēdētājs; literal translation, lit. "Chairperson of the Saeima") is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Parliament of Latvia, the Saeima. If the President of Latvia resigns from office, dies or is removed from office before their term has ended, the Speaker of the Saeima shall assume the duties of the President until the Saeima has elected a new President. Similarly, the Speaker of the Saeima shall assume the duties of the President if the latter is away from Latvia or for any other reason unable to fulfil the duties of office. The Speaker of the Saeima must be elected at the first meeting of the current convocation of the Saeima. List of speakers Speakers of the Saeima (1922-1934) Parties Chairman of the Supreme Council (1990-1993) Parties Speakers of the Saeima (after 1993) Parties Timeline ImageSize = width:250 height:1200 PlotArea = width:50 height:1180 left:50 bottom:10 DateFormat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evika Siliņa
Evika Siliņa (born 3 August 1975) is a Latvian lawyer and politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Latvia since 15 September 2023. From 2022 to 2023, she served as in the second cabinet of prime minister Krišjānis Kariņš. She is a member of the Unity political party, and the second female head of government of Latvia. Early life Siliņa was born in Riga on 3 August 1975. She studied at the University of Latvia from 1993 to 1997, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in law and at the Riga Graduate School of Law for a master's degree in social sciences, international law, and European law. From 2003 to 2012, Siliņa worked as a lawyer specializing in international and domestic business law. Her clients included firms in telecommunications and IT as well as government bodies. Political career In the 2011 Latvian parliamentary election, Siliņa ran as a candidate of the Zatlers' Reform Party in Riga, but was not elected. From 2011 to 2012, she was a lega ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister Of Latvia
The prime minister of Latvia ( lv, ministru prezidents) 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 parliamentary majority in the Saeima. The tables below display all Latvian prime ministers from both the first period of Latvian independence (1918–1940) and since the country regained its independence (1990–present). From 1990 to 6 July 1993, the head of government was known as the chairman of the Council of Ministers. A direct translation of the official Latvian term is minister-president. Although the equivalent is used in some European languages, it is not used conventionally in English. List 1918-1940 Political Party: 1940-1990 Vilis Lācis, JANIS (VILIS) LACIS (1940-1959) Jānis Peive (1959-1963) Vitālijs Rubenis (1963-1970) Jurijs Rubenis (1970-1988) Vilnis Edvīns Bresis (1988-1990) 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgars Rinkēvičs
Edgars Rinkēvičs (born 21 September 1973 in Jūrmala) is a Latvian public official and politician, currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, a role he has held since 2011. Before beginning in this role, he served as head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia, as State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, as well as a deputy of the Saeima. Having previously represented Latvian Way and the Reform Party, he has been a member of the Unity party since May 2014. Early life and education Rinkēvičs was born in Jūrmala, where he completed high school in 1991. Upon graduating from high school, he started a bachelor's degree at the University of Latvia's Faculty of History and Philosophy, which he acquired in 1995. During the same time, in 1994 and 1995 he studied Political Science and International Relations at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, for which he received a certificate in 1995. In 1997, he obtained his master's degree in political ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
President Of Latvia
The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezidents ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Latvian National Armed Forces, National Armed Forces of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. The term of office is four years. Before 1999, it was three years. The president may be elected any number of times, but not more than twice in a row. In the event of the vacancy in the office of the president, the speaker of the Saeima assumes the duties of the president. For example, after the death of Jānis Čakste the speaker of the Saeima, Pauls Kalniņš, was acting president briefly in 1927, before a new president could be elected. Unlike his President of Estonia, Estonian counterpart, the Latvian president's role is not entirely ceremonial. However, the president is not as powerful as the president of Lithuania. Unlike in Estonia, the president shares executive power with the cabinet and Prime Minister of Latvia, prime minister. However, the president is not politically responsibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unitary Parliamentary Republic ...
A unitary parliamentary republic refers to a unitary state with a republican form of government in which the political power is vested in and entrusted to the parliament with confidence by its electorate. List of unitary parliamentary republics See also *Federal parliamentary republic Notes References {{portalbar, politics Unitary state Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religion In Latvia
The main religion traditionally practiced in Latvia is Christianity. , it is the largest religion (68%), though only about 7% of the population attends religious services regularly. Lutheranism is the main Christian denomination among ethnic Latvians due to strong historical links with the Nordic countries and Northern Germany (see Hanseatic League), while Catholicism is most prevalent in eastern Latvia ( Latgale), mostly due to Polish influence. The Latvian Orthodox Church is the third largest Christian church in Latvia, with adherents primarily among the Russian-speaking minority. History Latvia was one of the last regions in Europe to be Christianized. The inhabitants of the region that is now Latvia once practiced Finnic paganism and Baltic mythology, but this practice gradually diminished through the course of the centuries. In the 12th to 13th centuries Latvia first became part of the Catholic Church, as the Christian kings of Denmark, Sweden and the North Germa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irreligion
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and antitheism. Social scientists tend to define irreligion as a purely naturalist worldview that excludes a belief in anything supernatural. The broadest and loosest definition, serving as an upper limit, is the lack of religious identification, though many non-identifiers express metaphysical and even religious beliefs. The narrowest and strictest is subscribing to positive atheism. According to the Pew Research Center's 2012 global study of 230 countries and territories, 16% of the world's population does not identify with any religion. The population of the religiously unaffiliated, sometimes referred to as "nones", has grown significantly in recent years. Measurement of irreligiosity requires great cultural sensitivity, especially outsi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_(cropped).jpg "Click for more on -> President Of Latvia")
