Aivars Endziņš (born 8 December 1940, 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 B ...

) is a Latvian lawyer and politician. He graduated from the

University of Latvia 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, seventh ...

in 1968 and in 1977 attained a candidate of legal sciences degree. In 1997 he became a Doctor of Jurisprudence. He has worked as a lecturer at the University of Latvia and at the Turība School of Business Administration. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1963 to 1990, when he became a member of the

Popular Front of Latvia 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 ...

and a member of the

Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia The Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republikas Augstākā Padome) was the transitional parliament of Latvia from 1990 to 1993, after the restoration of independence Independence is a condition of a person, ...

. He was for a short time a member of

Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party ) , colours = Maroon Green , headquarters = Riga, Lāčplēša iela 60, LV-1011 , seats1_title = Saeima , seats1 = , seats2_title = European Parliament , seats2 = , website lsdsp.lv, membership_year = 2017 , membership = 633 The Latv ...

, and in 1993 became a member of Latvian Way. He was a member of the 5th and 6th

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the 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 popular ...

s, but resigned in 1996 to become a judge on the

Constitutional Court of Latvia Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republikas Satversmes tiesa) is an independent court, which was established in 1996 on basis of amendments in law "On Judicial Power" and in the Constitution of Latvia made in 1994. ...

. He became the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court in 2000 and left this office in 2007. He was a presidential candidate in the

2007 Latvian presidential election A presidential election was held in the Latvian Saeima on 31 May 2007. The government candidate Valdis Zatlers defeated Aivars Endziņš. Nominations Before the governing coalition had agreed on Zatlers as a candidate, the People's Party had ...

, nominated by

Harmony Centre ;russian: Достойная жизнь для каждого) , website saskanascentrs.lv Harmony Centre ( lv, Saskaņas Centrs, SC; russian: Центр Cогласия, ЦC) was a social democracy, social-democratic political alliance in L ...

and supported by the

New Era Party The New Era Party ( lv, Jaunais laiks, JL) was a centre-right political party in Latvia. Founded in 2002, the party merged with Civic Union and Society for Other Politics to form Unity in 2011. New Era was a member of the European People's P ...

and the political alliance

For Human Rights in a 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. ...

. After a passionate debate over his membership of the Communist Party, which included a revelation that in the 1970s he had denied the

occupation of Latvia Latvia has been occupied by military forces from other nations from time to time. Military occupations of Latvia have included: * Livonian Crusade (13th century) * Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 * Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany (1941– ...

, he lost the election to

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 ...

References

1940 births Living people Lawyers from Riga Communist Party of Latvia politicians Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party politicians Latvian Way politicians Deputies of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia Deputies of the 5th Saeima Deputies of the 6th Saeima Candidates for President of Latvia Judges of the Constitutional Court of Latvia Latvian legal scholars University of Latvia alumni Politicians from Riga 20th-century Latvian judges 21st-century Latvian judges {{Latvia-politician-stub