Pauls Kalniņš (3 March 1872 – 26 August 1945) was a Latvian physician and politician (

LSDSP The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (, LSDSP) is a social-democratic political party in Latvia and the second oldest existing Latvian political party after the Latvian Farmers' Union. It is currently represented with two seats in the ...

), a long-term

Speaker of the Saeima The Speaker of the Saeima (; literal translation, lit. "Chairperson of the Saeima") is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Parliament of Latvia, the Saeima. If the President of Latvia resigns from office, dies or is removed from off ...

, one of the signatories of the Memorandum of the

Latvian Central Council The Latvian Central Council (LCC, , LCP) was the pro-independence Latvian resistance movement during World War II from 1943 onwards. The LCC consisted of members from across the spectrum of former leading Latvian politicians and aimed to be the g ...

in 17 March 1944, and was the

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

President of Latvia The president of Latvia ( ) 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 this office is four years. Before 1999, it was three years. The presi ...

(1927, 1944–1945).

Personal life

Pauls Kalniņš was born on 3 March 1872 (from other sources – 3 April) at the Vilce Parish "Mazpečuļos" as a farmer's son. After graduating from the local parish school, he studied at

Liepāja Gymnasium Liepāja Nicolai Gymnasium was a six-year (later seven) gymnasium (high school) in Liepāja (Libau), Courland Governorate, Russian Empire. It was established in 1865 on the basis of a school that traced its roots to 1848. The school was named in ...

, where he met such later statesmen such as

Miķelis Valters Miķelis Valters (May 7, 1874 pril 24 O.S.– March 25, 1968) was the first Latvian Minister of the Interior (1918–1919), member of the New Current intellectual movement, lawyer, politician, diplomat, social activist, and one of the authors ...

and Jānis Jansons-Brauns. He graduated from the gymnasium in 1892 and went to study natural sciences at

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

, but later moved to the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

, where he studied medicine, obtaining a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

as a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

in 1898. He met his wife, Klāra Kalniņa, in 1895, and married her three years after.

Political career

As a member of , in 1897, he was arrested together with other members of the New Current and deported from

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

until 1901. The deportation was accompanied by

Žagarė Žagarė (, see also #Etymology, other names) is a city located in the Joniškis district, northern Lithuania, close to the border with Latvia. It has a population of about 2,000, down from 14,000 in 1914, when it was the 7th largest city in Lith ...

. After returning to

, he became a prominent member of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

, a participant in the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...

, and was a collaborator in the editorial staff of Cīņa (now Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze). He joined the non-

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

direction of social democracy. He became a Chairman of the

Central Committee (1918–1924), a member of the People's Council, a member of the

Constitutional Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

and a member of all the first free state

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, 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 p ...

, as a Chairman of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Saeima. Kalniņš ran in the Latvian presidential elections of

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

and

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

. On both occasions, he lost to Alberts Kviesis. Kalniņš received the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () 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 "Through hardships towards the ...

1st (1927) and 2nd Class (1926). After the coup of K. Ulmanis, Kalniņš spent 4 months in the concentration camp of Liepāja. During World War II and the

occupation of the Baltic states The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Naz ...

, Kalniņš was one of the founders of the

, the main political resistance movement, becoming its leader after the arrest of by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

. In a meeting of the LCC on 8 September 1944, Kalniņš signed the ''Declaration on the Restoration of the Latvian State'': "On the basis of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia (Article 52), the position of the last President of the Saeima has passed to me as the last legally elected Speaker of the Saeima. On this day, I took up the position of the President until the election of a new President in accordance with the procedure provided for in the Satversme. ." According to the

Constitution of Latvia The Constitution of Latvia (, ) is the fundamental law of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. The Satversme is the oldest Central and Eastern Europe, Eastern or Central European constitution still in force and the sixth oldest still-functioning repu ...

, as the last

, he was the acting president until his death.

Death

In 1944 Kalniņš emigrated. He died on 26 August 1945 in the village of Becava near Lustenava, in the Allied occupied Austria. He was survived by his wife Klāra Kalniņa and son

Brūno Kalniņš Brūno (also: Bruno) Haralds Kalniņš (7 May 1898 – 26 March 1990) was a Latvian people, Latvian Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party, social democratic politician and historian. He was the son of prominent social-democratic politician ...

, who were also notable employees of the Social Democrats.

References

External links

Pauls Kalniņš as the Acting President of Latvia (1944–1945)
by the Chancellery of the

Latvian TV documentary examines the Latvian Central Council's effort to maintain statehood - eng.Lsm.lv
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalnins, Pauls 1872 births 1945 deaths People from Jelgava Municipality People from Courland Governorate Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party politicians Presidents of Latvia Speakers of the Saeima Members of the People's Council of Latvia Deputies of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia Deputies of the 1st Saeima Deputies of the 2nd Saeima Deputies of the 3rd Saeima Deputies of the 4th Saeima Latvian physicians University of Tartu alumni Latvian World War II refugees Latvian expatriates in Austria Physicians from the Russian Empire 20th-century Latvian physicians