Vladimir Putin 21 September 2002-Jānis Jurkāns cropped

Jānis Jurkāns (born 31 August 1946 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

) is a Latvian politician, one of the leaders of the

Latvian Popular Front The Popular Front of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Tautas fronte) was a political organisation in Latvia in the late 1980s and early 1990s which led Latvia to its independence from the Soviet Union. It was similar to the Popular Front of Estonia and the ...

, who served as foreign minister (1990–1992).

Biography

Jānis Jurkāns was born in 1946 into a family with Polish-Latvian roots. In 1974 Jurkāns graduated from the

Latvian State University University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, sevent ...

, majoring in English. He worked as a lecturer from 1974 to 1978. In 1989 he became an activist of the Popular Front. Jurkāns was Minister of Foreign Affairs in Latvia, 1990–1992. In 1992, Janis Jurkāns, together with 9 other Baltic Ministers of Foreign Affairs and an EU commissioner, founded the

Council of the Baltic Sea States The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a regional intergovernmental organisation working on three priority areas: Regional Identity, Safe & Secure Region and Sustainable & Prosperous Region. These three priority areas aim to address ...

(CBSS) and the

EuroFaculty EuroFaculty was an educational institution in the Baltic states in reforming higher education in Economics, Law, Public Administration and Business Administration. History At the founding meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) ...

. He resigned in 1992 due to opposition to the Latvian citizenship law, that in his view threatened social harmony in the country; he also rejected territorial claims to the

Abrene district Abrene may refer to: *Abrene, the name which the town Pytalovo in Pskov Oblast, Russia bore in 1938–1945 when it was a part of Latvia * Abrene County, a historical district in Latvia *Abrene, general Latvian name for the territory of Pytalovsky Di ...

. In 1994, Jurkāns founded the

National Harmony Party The National Harmony Party ( Latvian: ''Tautas Saskaņas partija'', TSP; russian: Партия народного согласия) was a political party in Latvia. The party identified with social democracy. It supported further liberalisation o ...

and was the chairman of the party's faction in the

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 ...

(1994–1996; 1997–1998) and later of the parliamentary faction of the

For Human Rights in United Latvia The Latvian Russian Union (LRU, lv, Latvijas Krievu savienība, russian: Русский союз Латвии, Russkiy soyuz Latvii) (LKS) is a political party in Latvia supported mainly by ethnic Russians and other Russian-speaking minorities. ...

alliance. He was a deputy in the V, VI, VII and VIII convocations of the Saeima (1993–2006). In 2002, he visited Moscow and met Vladimir Putin, who expressed support for Jurkāns's policies.Зайцев В
Правящая партия в Латвии проиграла
// Независимая газета, 7 октября 2002 In 2005 he distanced himself from politics, concentrating on the logistics corporation "Baltijas asociācija – transports un loģistika". Nevertheless, he participated in the 2011 Latvian parliamentary election as a

Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way ( lv, Latvijas Pirmā partija/Latvijas Ceļš, LPP/LC) was a political party in Latvia created from the merger of the Christian-democratic Latvia's First Party (LPP), the liberal Latvian Way (LC) and the regional ...

candidate and was a potential candidate for foreign minister; however, he failed to get elected. Supporter of Crimea's annexation by Russia.«Экс-глава МИД Латвии поддержал присоединение Крыма к России». ria.ru, 9 Jan 2015. Jānis Jurkāns is divorced, and has two sons.

Footnotes

External links

CV on the site of Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurkans, Janis 1946 births Living people Politicians from Riga Latvian people of Polish descent National Harmony Party politicians Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way politicians Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Deputies of the 5th Saeima Deputies of the 6th Saeima Deputies of the 7th Saeima Deputies of the 8th Saeima University of Latvia alumni