Lilita Zatlere (born 24 February 1953

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 ...

) is a Latvian businesswoman. She served as the

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

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 ...

from 2007 to 2011 during the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

of her husband,

Valdis Zatlers Valdis Zatlers (born 22 March 1955) is a Latvian politician and former physician who served as the seventh president of Latvia from 2007 to 2011. He won the Latvian presidential election of 31 May 2007. He became President of Latvia on 8 July 2 ...

Biography

Zatlere was born in

on 24 February 1953. She attended elementary school in Rīga No. 15 Eight-Year School. She then studied at Rīga Trade Technical School and the Soviet-era People's University. After completing school, Zatlere began working with art at an

antiques shop An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally or, with the advent of the Internet, found online. An antiques shop can also be located within an anti ...

. Following the restoration of Latvian independence, Lilita Zatlere was appointed to a Riga city commission which focused on compensating Latvians who had lost property during the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

. She served on the committee for three years. From 1995 to 2007, she was the director of the Private Orthopaedic Practice, which supplied spinal implants to the , which was headed by her second husband,

Honors and awards

*: First Class of the

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 ...

, First Class (April 2009) *: Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

(May 2010) *: Grand Cross of the

Order of Vytautas the Great The Order of Vytautas the Great is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguished ...

(2011) *: Grand Cross of the

National Order of Faithful Service The National Order of Faithful Service ( ro, Ordinul Național "Serviciul Credincios") is the second highest national order of Romania, with the Order of the Star of Romania being the highest national order. Originally it was established as the M ...

(2011) *: Grand Cross of the Order pro Merito Melitensi (October 2008) *: Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

*: First Class of the

Order of Princess Olga The Order of Princess Olga ( uk, Орден княгині Ольги) is a Ukrainian civil decoration, featuring Olga of Kiev and bestowed to women for "personal merits in state, production, scientific, educational, cultural, charity and other ...

(June 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zatlere, Lilita Living people 1953 births First ladies and gentlemen of Latvia Recipients of the Order of Princess Olga, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Order of the White Rose of Finland Recipients of the Order of Vytautas the Great Recipients of the National Order of Faithful Service Latvian businesspeople Latvian women in business People from Riga Businesspeople from Riga