Ivars Godmanis

Ivars Godmanis
Godmanis (left) greets Ambassador Chuck Larson of the United States, January 2009
Prime Minister of Latvia
In office 20 December 2007 – 12 March 2009
President	Valdis Zatlers
Preceded by	Aigars Kalvītis
Succeeded by	Valdis Dombrovskis
In office 7 May 1990* – 3 August 1993
President	Anatolijs Gorbunovs (Acting) Guntis Ulmanis
Preceded by	Vilnis-Edvīns Bresis
Succeeded by	Valdis Birkavs
Personal details
Born	27 November 1951 Riga, Latvia
Political party	Popular Front of Latvia (1988–1993) Latvian Way (1997–2007) Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way (2007–2011)
Alma mater	University of Latvia
As the Chairman of the Council of Ministers

Ivars Godmanis (on left) at meeting of Latvia government and deployers of US embassy in Riga

Ivars Godmanis (born 27 November 1951) is a Latvian politician who was Prime Minister of Latvia from 1990 to 1993 and again from 2007 to 2009. He was the first Prime Minister of Latvia after the country restored its independence from the Soviet Union.

Political career

Godmanis served as Prime Minister from 1990 to 1993, focusing primarily on Latvia's difficult economic transition from a communist to a capitalist economy. In 1995 Godmanis was awarded with the Order of the Three Stars.^[1] He later served as the Finance Minister from 1998 to 1999. He was originally associated with the Latvian Popular Front, but after the Front ceased to exist he moved to the Latvian Way party. In November 2006, following elections in which the Latvian Way in coalition with Latvia's First Party returned to Parliament, Godmanis became the Minister of the Interior.

On 14 December 2007, Godmanis was nominated as Prime Minister by President Valdis Zatlers.^[2] He was approved by the parliament on 20 December, with 54 votes in favor and 43 in opposition.^[3]

On 18 June 2008 he suffered head injuries in a car accident when his official limousine was involved in a collision with a small bus.^[4]

On 19 September 2008 he replaced Roger Taylor at drums with Queen + Paul Rodgers' performance of "All Right Now" in a concert in Riga.^[5][6]

Economic problems and corruption charges caused the popularity of Godmanis's government to plummet. In January 2009, anti-government protests turned into the worst riots the country has seen since re-gaining independence in 1991.^[7] On 20 February 2009, Godmanis resigned as Prime Minister along with the rest of his government over concerns about handling the economic crisis.^[8] On 26 February 2009, President Valdis Zatlers appointed former finance minister Valdis Dombrovskis as the new prime minister; he was sworn in on 12 March 2009.^[9]

See also

• First Godmanis cabinet
• Second Godmanis cabinet

References

1. "Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis" (in Latvian). gramata21.lv. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
2. "Godmanis nominated for prime minister", The Baltic Times, 19 December 2007.
3. "Latvia’s old coalition back in power", Reuters (The Peninsula Online), 21 December 2007.
4. "Latvian PM fractures skull in Riga car accident", AFP (Canada.com), Wednesday, 18 June 2008.
5. "Queen + Ivars Godmanis". Queen Productions. 22 September 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
6. "Queen News September 2008". Brianmay.com. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
7. "/ Europe – Latvian poll threat after rioting". Financial Times. 14 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
8. "Latvian PM quits as crisis bites". BBC News. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
9. "Dombrovskis chosen as Latvian PM". BBC News. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2009.

External links

• Government of Latvia, The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia: Prime Minister