The Latvian Provisional Government ( lv, Latvijas Pagaidu valdība) was formed on November 18, 1918 by the

People's Council of Latvia The People's Council of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Tautas padome, LTP) was a temporary council which declared Latvia's independence on November 18, 1918 and then acted as the temporary parliament of the country until a Constitutional Assembly was elect ...

as the

interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

of the newly-proclaimed Republic of Latvia during the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaim ...

. The term encompasses three cabinets led by

Kārlis Ulmanis Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis (; 4 September 1877 – 20 September 1942) was a Latvian politician. He was one of the most prominent Latvian politicians of pre-World War II Latvia during the Interwar period of independence from November 1918 to ...

, the leader of the Agrarian Union, who was chosen to be

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. The Ulmanis' government led the country until the formation of an elected cabinet after the elections to the

Constitutional Assembly of Latvia The Constitutional Assembly of Latvia ( lv, Satversmes sapulce) was independent Latvia's first elected legislative body. Its main task was creating the constitution of Latvia, the Satversme, which is still in effect to this day. The Speaker of As ...

in June 1920.

History

After the Proclamation of the Independence of the Republic of Latvia on November 18, 1918, the interim parliament – the

– chose Kārlis Ulmanis to form the country's first government. In December, the first ministries were created. From December 1918 until May 1919, the Latvian territories (that were not under German occupation) were invaded and controlled by a provisional Soviet Latvian government led by

Pēteris Stučka Pēteris Stučka, sometimes spelt Pyotr Ivanovich Stuchka (russian: Пётр Ива́нович Сту́чка, german: Peter Stutschka (in contemporary writings); – 25 January 1932), was a Latvian jurist and communist politician who served a ...

. During these months, the Ulmanis government had evacuated from the capital

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 ...

to the western city of

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

, which was defended by troops of the nascent Latvian armed forces and the Baltic German Landeswehr. Joint military operations of the growing Latvian armed forces of the Ulmanis government together with the Landeswehr and the German

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

, coupled with supportive attacks from the

Estonian Army The Estonian Land Forces ( et, Maavägi), unofficially referred to as the Estonian Army, is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defense Forces where it has an offensive military formation role. It is currently the largest ...

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...

, succeeded in pushing Soviet armies back into

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

during the late spring of 1919. In April 1919, however, the German forces attempted a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

in an effort to install a pro-German puppet government led by pastor

Andrievs Niedra Andrievs Niedra ( old orthography: ''Andreews Needra''; 8 February 1871 – 25 September 1942) was a Latvian writer, Lutheran pastor and the Prime Minister of the German puppet government in Latvia between April and June 1919, during the Latvian ...

. With protection from the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

the Ulmanis government took refuge on the ship ''Saratov'' in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

near the coast of Latvia. After the German forces were forced to leave Riga due to an Estonian-Latvian offensive and the Niedra government collapsed, the Ulmanis cabinet was able to return to land in July 1919. After the liberation of Latgale in January, the Ulmanis government signed an armistice with

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

on February 21, 1920, and a peace treaty on August 11, 1920. Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in Latvia between 14 and 16 April 1920. The interim government was succeeded by the elected , which was approved on June 20, 1920.

References

* * *{{cite book , title=Latvia in Transition , last=Dreifelds , first=Juris , year=1996 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , isbn=978-0-5215-5537-1 , page=24 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0d9svpuxozkC Political history of Latvia 1918 establishments in Latvia Independence of Latvia Provisional governments

History

See also

References