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History and Government
History: The largest of the three Baltic Republics, Latvia has, like Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south, been an important trading centre and strategic pawn in the Baltic region. The various Latvian tribes were self-governing until the end of the 13th century when the territory was conquered by the German Teutonic Knights. Latvia was then subject to sporadic invasions by the Poles and the Swedes until the 18th century when Russia, under Peter the Great, emerged as a major European power. By 1795 the entire Latvian territory was under Russian control. The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 heralded the end of Russian suzerainty: this was decided at the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk under which Russia was obliged to cede its Baltic territories.
The Bolsheviks invaded Latvia the following year, but were driven out by a joint Latvian-German force. The Treaty of Versailles then forced the Germans to leave, allowing the Latvians to assert their independence for the first time in more than 600 years. However, World War II again threatened the country with foreign domination and in 1940 the Russians took over once more. Latvia had, that same year, signed a bilateral non-aggression pact with the Germans and a pact with Moscow. The Russians were driven out by the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, but returned three years later, after which Latvia was incorporated into the Soviet Union along with Estonia and Lithuania as one of the 15 Soviet republics. The process that led eventually to Latvia' present independence began with the accession of Mikhail Gorbachev as Soviet leader in 1985.
Campaigning for democracy and independence began in earnest in October 1988 with the formation of the Popular Front of Latvia (LTF). In contrast with neighbouring Estonia, the Latvian Communist Party adopted an anti-reform stance and called for the establishment of presidential rule (by decree). At elections to the Supreme Soviet in March 1990, the Popular Front of Latvia won a convincing victory. An alliance of the Communist Party (CPL) and the Russophone anti-independence grouping, Interfront, emerged as the strongest opposition bloc. The new Latvian Supreme Soviet thereupon adopted a series of resolutions to prepare the transition to full independence. The new state was quickly recognised internationally and re-admitted to the UN.
Gradually, the trappings of sovereign statehood were assumed and in March 1993 a new currency, the Lat, was introduced. Latvia' foreign relations are dominated by links with the Russian Federation and the Commonwealth of Independent States, which none of the three Baltic Republics joined. But Latvia did join the Council of Baltic States, along with Lithuania and Estonia, which seeks to promote political and economic links in the region. On the domestic political front, the first post-independence elections were held in June 1993. This was the first of ten governments to have held office in the country' first decade of independence. The proportional representation system used by Latvia tends to promote coalition politics, but the frequency and severity of the disputes between the four major parties have served to undermine successive administrations.
Latvian politics are dominated by a group of centre-right parties. The largest of these is Latvijas Cei (LC, Latvian way) which leads the present ruling coalition which took over in May 2000; the LC leader, Andris Berzins, is Prime Minister (he replaced Andris Skele, who had resigned the premiership for the third time in four years). The two other major parties in the Saiema, the Tautas Partija (People' party), also of a centre-right persuasion, and the right-wing Alliance for the Fatherland, are the other main components of the present Berzins administration. The instability of successive governments may point to a deeper malaise in Latvian politics: any significant dispute seems sufficient to collapse a particular administration (the latest demise was caused by a row over the privatisation of the country' main energy utility -Latvernego).
Some of this can be attributed, however, to the difficulty of the transition from the Soviet regime to a pluralist system. A major domestic political issue has been the interrelated problems of citizenship and relationships with Russia. The suppression of Latvian language and culture during the Soviet era has left a legacy of hostility between ethnic Latvians and Russians which is only gradually being overcome.
Abroad, the government' main long-term priority is gaining membership of the EU and NATO: the latter prospect will be particularly unwelcome in Moscow while the former will demand at least a decade of major structural reforms to the country' political and economic systems before it can satisfy the conditions for EU membership. Nonetheless, the first steps have been with the signing of an Association Agreement with the EU and, in 1995, admission to the Council of Europe. All Latvian governments, irrespective of their composition or lifetime, have had their sights firmly fixed on these two objectives.
Government: Under the current constitutional arrangements, legislative powers are vested in the elected 100-member Saiema (Supreme Council) which is elected for a four-year term. Executive power is held by the prime minister who heads an appointed cabinet of ministers. The head of state, the president, is elected by, and chairs, the Saiema.
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