Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (,

Durbe Durbe (; german: Durben, lt, Durbė, pl, Dorbiany, russian: Дурбе ''Durbe''/Дурбен ''Durben'') is a town in Latvia. Durbe was first noted in 1260, when the Battle of Durbe occurred near Lake Durbe. As of 2020, the population was 49 ...

– 22 August 1925, near

Tukums Tukums (; german: Tuckum; liv, Tukāmō) is a town in the Zemgale region of Latvia. History The historical center of Tukums developed between trade routes leading from the mouth of the Daugava River to Prussia. The oldest part is today's Ta ...

) was a Latvian politician and diplomat who served as the first

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

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 its independence until 1924 and again from December of the same year until his death. He also served two terms as the

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 obta ...

from June, 1921 to January, 1923 and from June 1923 to January, 1924. He was one of the founders of the

Latvian Farmers' Union The Latvian Farmers' Union ( lv, Latvijas Zemnieku savienība, LZS) is an agrarian political party in Latvia. Initially formed in 1917 during the period of Latvian War of Independence, it was banned in 1934. It was re-established in 1990. It is ...

, one of Latvia's oldest political parties.

Early life

Meierovics was born into the family of a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

doctor and his Latvian wife Anna, who died in childbirth. His father became mentally ill and therefore young Meierovics grew up with his uncle's family in

Sabile Sabile (; german: Zabeln) is a town in Talsi Municipality Talsi Municipality ( lv, Talsu novads) is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Abava parish, Balgale parish, Ģibuļi parish, Īve paris ...

. He studied at the

Riga Polytechnicum Riga Technical University (RTU) ( lv, Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte) is the oldest technical university in the Baltic countries established on October 14, 1862. It is located in Riga, Latvia and was previously known as 'Riga Polytechnical Inst ...

Career

After 1911 Meierovics belonged to various Latvian organizations, notably the

Riga Latvian Society 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 ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he worked in the Latvian Refugee Committee and the organizing committee of the Latvian Riflemen units. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

he moved to

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 work as a professional politician. In September 1917, he attended the Congress of the Peoples of Russia. On 23 October, and again on 11 November 1918, as the representative of

Latvian Provisional National Council Latvian Provisional National Council (, LPNP) was a political organization established on November 29, 1917 (November 16 in the Julian calendar) in Valka, Governorate of Livonia by the Latvian Refugee Support Central Committee, Latvian political p ...

, he received written confirmation that the United Kingdom acknowledged the ''de facto'' statehood of

and National Council as its government. Meierovics became the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia on 19 November 1918, a day after the Republic of Latvia was proclaimed. He was a member of the Latvian Peoples Council, 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 ...

and the

1st Saeima The 1st Saeima was the parliament of Latvia from November 7, 1922 until November 2, 1925. It was the first Saeima to be elected after the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia had created the Constitution of Latvia and the Elections Law. Social-De ...

Honours and awards

On 17 March 1922, Meierovics was awarded the Grand Cross of the Polish

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

. On 30 May 1922, he received the Grand Cross of the

Order of St. Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...

, 1st Class (

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

). He was also awarded the

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. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

, First Class (Latvia),

Order of the White Rose 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. T ...

(Finland) and

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

(France) Other awards included the

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, lv, Lāčplēša Kara ordenis), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during t ...

, 3rd class (Latvia) and the Austro-Hungarian Order of the Red Cross.

Private life

On 28 September 1910 Meierovics married Anna Fielhold, with whom he had three children, two boys and a girl; Helmuts (1914–1998), Ruta (1916-1999, surname Kose in marriage) and Gunars (1920–2007). On 18 February 1924 they officially divorced, and on 7 June of the same year he married Kristīne Bakmane. His son Gunars was a candidate for

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 w ...

in 1993. It was the first presidential election after the end of the Soviet occupation. The 5th Saeima failed to elect Meierovics, instead choosing

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. ...

, the great-nephew of Kārlis Ulmanis.

Death

Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics died in a car accident on 22 August 1925 at the age of 38. The car with the minister, his chauffeur, his ex-wife and his children from the first marriage, departed from

where his first wife's mansion was located, heading for the seaside. About 18 km from

the car accidentally drove off the road and overturned. While other passengers suffered only minor bruises, the minister was apparently crushed by the vehicle, resulting in a broken neck and severed spinal cord. The chauffeur had to run about 2 km to the nearest living place, but before the doctor arrived, the minister died on the scene."Подробности катастрофы," newspaper ''Сегодня'', Sunday, 08–23–25, p. 2. Retrieved 05–05–11. His widow shot herself on 2 December 1925 and is buried next to him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meierovics, Zigfrids Anna 1887 births 1925 deaths People from Durbe People from Courland Governorate Jewish Latvian politicians Latvian Farmers' Union politicians Prime Ministers of Latvia Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Deputies of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia Deputies of the 1st Saeima Latvian people of Jewish descent Riga Technical University alumni Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester