Alberts Kviesis
| Alberts Kviesis | |
|---|---|
Alberts Kviesis on a 2000 stamp of Latvia
|
|
| 3rd President of Latvia | |
|
In office 9 April 1930 – 11 April 1936 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Hugo Celmiņš Kārlis Ulmanis Marģers Skujenieks Ādolfs Bļodnieks Kārlis Ulmanis |
| Preceded by | Gustavs Zemgals |
| Succeeded by | Kārlis Ulmanis* |
| Minister of the Interior of Latvia | |
|
In office 18 June 1921 – 25 January 1923 |
|
| Prime Minister | Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics |
| Preceded by | Arveds Bergs |
| Succeeded by | Pēteris Berģis |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
22 December 1881 Tērvete parish, Latvia (part of the Russian Empire) |
| Died | 9 August 1944 (aged 62) Riga, Latvia (part of Reichskommissariat Ostland) |
| Resting place | Forest Cemetery, Riga |
| Nationality | Latvian |
| Political party | Latvian Farmers' Union |
| Spouse(s) | Elza |
| Children | Ēriks |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
|
|
Alberts Kviesis (22 December 1881, in Tērvete parish – 9 August 1944, in Riga) was a Latvian politician and the third President of Latvia.
Alberts Kviesis was born in Kalnamuiža (Tērvete) parish. Having received his primary education from his parents, he thereafter finished the Jelgava Gymnasium and from 1902 studied law at the Tartu University, from where he graduated in 1907. After his studies, he worked as a lawyer in Jelgava. He took an active part in the work of Latvian national societies, having served as an acting chair of the Jelgava Latvian Society and a member of the Latvian commission of the Jelgava Red Cross.
On 25 April 1917, in Tartu, he participated in the Kurzeme local assembly and was elected to the Provisional Land Council of Kurzeme. In May 1917, he was elected by the Congress of Latvian Lawyers to the Bureau of Latvian Lawyers of Tartu. On 17 November 1918 Kviesis was among the delegates of the Tautas padome (People’s Council) of Latvia and, as a lawyer, was elected the vice-chair of the Council for juridical affairs. During the first years of Latvian independence, Kviesis actively participated in the development of the Latvian legal and court system. In July 1919 he was appointed a member of the Court Chamber, becoming its chairman from March 1923. Concurrently, from 1921 to 1923 he served as the Minister for the Interior in the cabinet of Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics. He was one of the most active members of the Latvian Farmers' Union, being elected to the Constitutional Assembly and first three Saeimas. From 1926 he served as the Vice-Speaker of the Latvian parliament.
After his unsuccessful attempt during the Latvian presidential elections in 1927, Kviesis ran again in 1930 after Gustavs Zemgals refused to be a candidate for a second term. He was elected after eleven rounds of voting on 9 April 1930, with a 55-vote majority of the Saeima members. During his term as President, he never proposed a single law himself, never vetoed a single law passed by Saeima, and never exercised his right to call an extraordinary cabinet meeting. On 11 April 1933 he was reelected by Saeima for his second term.
...
Wikipedia