Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (, Durbe – 22 August 1925, near

Tukums Tukums (; ; ) is a town in Latvia and serves as the administrative center of Tukums Municipality. It is located in the eastern part of the historical region of Courland, and with more than 16,000 inhabitants Tukums is the 13th largest settlem ...

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

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

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 ...

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 () 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 obtain the support of a p ...

from June, 1921 to January, 1923 and from June 1923 to January, 1924. He was one of the founders of the Latvian Farmers' Union, one of Latvia's oldest political parties.

Early life

Meierovics was born into the family of a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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. He studied at the Riga Polytechnicum.

Career

After 1911 Meierovics belonged to various Latvian organizations, notably the Riga Latvian Society. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

he moved 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 ...

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, 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 and the 1st Saeima.

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 (, ) 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 alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

. On 30 May 1922, he received the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sylvester, 1st Class (

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

). He was also awarded 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 ...

, First Class (Latvia),

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

(Finland) and

Croix de Guerre The (, ''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 awarded during World ...

(France) Other awards included the

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, ), 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 the Latvian War of Independ ...

, 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 ( ) 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 ...

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, 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 South Kurzeme Municipality People from Grobiņa county Latvian people of Jewish descent 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 Riga Technical University alumni Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester