Dainis Īvāns (born 25 September 1955 in

Madona Madona (; ) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality. History The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries of old buria ...

) is a Latvian journalist and politician. He has worked as a journalist since 1979 and gained public attention in 1986 by opposing construction of another hydro-electric dam on the

Daugava The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

river, near the city of

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

. Īvāns highlighted the loss of landscapes and the relocation of numerous villages and towns required in the course of the dam's construction. As a result of the media campaign led by Īvāns, the construction of the dam was cancelled. He was awarded the title of Most Popular Journalist of 1986. In 1988, he became one of founders of the Popular Front of Latvia and its leader. After the Popular Front victory in the 1990 election, he became the deputy speaker of the Supreme Council, the transitional parliament of Latvia. He resigned from this position in 1992. He returned to politics in 1998, by joining the

Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (, LSDSP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic list of political parties in Latvia, political party in Latvia and the second oldest existing Latvian political party after the Latvian Farmers' Uni ...

and was elected to

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

from the Social Democrats' list in 2001. He was the leader of the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party from 2002 to 2005.

References

1955 births Living people People from Madona Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party politicians Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Deputies of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia 21st-century Latvian politicians University of Latvia alumni {{latvia-bio-stub