Anatolijs Gorbunovs, also known as Anatoly Valeryanovich Gorbunov ( rus, Анато́лий Валериа́нович Горбуно́в, born 10 February 1942, in

Pilda parish Pilda Parish ( lv, Pildas pagasts) is an administrative unit of Ludza Municipality, Latvia. It is also one of the rare places where people have some knowledge of the Ludza dialect The Ludza dialect or Lutsi () is a dialect of South Estonian s ...

Ludza municipality Ludza Municipality ( lv, Ludzas novads) is a municipality in Latgale, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Briģi Parish, Cirma Parish, Isnauda Parish, Istra Parish, Nirza Parish, Ņukši Parish, Pilda Parish, Pureņi Parish, ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

), is a Latvian politician who served as the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Supreme Soviet during the final years of the Soviet regime in Latvia and as Chairman of the Supreme Council of Latvia during the first years after the country regained its independence. In the latter capacity he was effectively the acting

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

before the election of the Fifth

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 po ...

in 1993. He continued to serve as the

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 ...

until 1995.

Political career

From 1974 to 1988, he held various positions in the

Communist Party of Latvia The Communist Party of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Komunistiskā partija, LKP) was a political party in Latvia. History Latvian Social-Democracy prior to 1919 The party was founded at a congress in June 1904. Initially the party was known as the Latvia ...

, with his highest position being the Secretary of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

. Unlike many other Communist Party members in Latvia, Gorbunovs supported the Latvian independence movement. From 1988 to 1990 he was also

Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Constitution of the Soviet Union recognised the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the earlier Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Congress of Soviets as the highest organs of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic ...

. From 1989 through 1995, he was speaker of the Latvian parliament. During this period, Latvian independence was restored de facto in 1991. As speaker of the parliament, Gorbunovs was acting State President per the 1922 Constitution until 1993, when

Guntis Ulmanis Guntis Ulmanis (born September 13, 1939), also known as Guntis Rumpītis from 1949 to 1989, is a Latvian politician and the fifth President of Latvia from 1993 to 1999. Biography Early life Guntis Ulmanis was born in Riga on September 13, 1939. ...

was elected president. Gorbunovs joined the

Latvian Way Latvian Way ( lv, Latvijas Ceļš) was a conservative-liberal political party in Latvia. It merged with Latvia's First Party to form the Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way (LPP/LC) in 2007. It described itself as "a liberal party defending peopl ...

party in 1993 and remained Speaker of the Saeima until 1995 and a member of parliament until 2002. Between 1995 and 2002, he served as Minister of Regional Development, Minister of Transportation and Deputy Prime Minister.

Awards

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

(USSR, 1981) *

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...

, 2nd Class (1995) *

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

, Commander 1st Class (Denmark, 1997) *

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of ...

, 1st Class (Estonia, 2002) * Medal of the

Baltic Assembly The Baltic Assembly (BA) is a regional organisation that promotes intergovernmental cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It attempts to find a common position in relation to many international issues, including economic, politic ...

(2011) * The Cicero Award () of the

Latvian Academy of Sciences The Latvian Academy of Sciences ( lv, Latvijas Zinātņu akadēmija) is the official Academy of Sciences, science academy of Latvia and is an association of the country's foremost scientists. The academy was founded as the ''Latvian SSR Academy o ...

(2012)

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorbunovs, Anatolijs 1942 births Living people People from Ludza Municipality Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia Latvian Way politicians Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way politicians Heads of state of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Ministers of the Environment of Latvia Speakers of the Saeima Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1985–1990 Deputies of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia Deputies of the 5th Saeima Deputies of the 6th Saeima Deputies of the 7th Saeima Candidates for President of Latvia People of the Singing Revolution Latvian independence activists Riga Technical University alumni Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Latvian people of Russian descent