Prime Minister of Latvia
Augusts Kirhen?teins,
formerly spelt
Kirchen?teins
(18 September 1872 ? 3 November 1963), was a Latvian and Soviet
microbiologist
, politician and educator. He was the
de facto
prime minister
of Latvia from 20 June 1940 to 25 August 1940 and Acting
de facto
President of Latvia
from 21 July 1940 to 25 August 1940. It was Kirhen?teins' Soviet puppet government that requested the incorporation of
Latvia
into the
Soviet Union
after the
occupation
of the country in 1940. He became a member of the
Communist Party
in 1941. He was
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
1940?1952.
Biography
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Augusts Kirhen?teins was born on 18 September 1872 on the estate of
Valtenberg Manor
in
Mazsalaca
, in the
Governorate of Livonia
. He was the eldest son of the tenant M?rti?? Kirhen?teins and his wife Baba, in a family of eleven children. Augusts Kirhen?teins' younger brother, R?dolfs Kirhen?teins (1891?1938), went on to become a Soviet intelligence officer who was arrested and shot during the
Great Terror
.
In 1888, Augusts Kirhen?teins attended school at the Riga Alexander Boys Gymnasium. He then studied at the
Tartu Veterinary Institute
(1893-1901), publishing his first scientific work while still pursuing his studies. He joined the student fraternity Selonija, later switching to the fraternity Zemgalija. In 1901, he graduated from the institute and worked as a veterinarian in
Valmiera
and
Limba?i
. Kirhen?teins was involved in revolutionary anti-Tsarist activity in this period and after the
1905 revolution
was defeated in Latvia, Kirhen?teins emigrated to
Switzerland
, where he lived for a while in
Zurich
. In 1911, he began work in
Davos
at the Institute for Tuberculosis Research as an assistant to the
bacteriologist
Carl Spengler.
During
World War I
, Kirhen?teins served in the
Serbian army
as a military veterinarian. He returned home to Latvia in 1917, later becoming a captain in veterinary units of the
Latvian National Armed Forces
during the
Latvian War of Independence
.
In 1919, he was elected as an associate professor at the
University of Latvia
, where he established a Microbiology Institute in the Faculty of Agriculture. In 1923, he defended his doctoral thesis, "On the Internal Structure and Development of Bacteria", writing his dissertation in French?this was the first doctoral thesis defended in Latvia. In 1923, he established a
serological
laboratory (Serum Station) at the University of Latvia. Working as its director, he made a major contribution to the development of science in Latvia, especially in the fields of microbiology, immunology, dairy farming and biotechnology.
In 1934, he married Olga Jansone in
Bern
. In addition to his scientific activities, Kirhen?teins was involved in social and political matters, in which he was a supporter of
social democracy
.
After the
occupation of Latvia
, Kirhen?teins was invited to the USSR Embassy and offered to become the head of the new Soviet
puppet government
in Latvia, whose primary task was to formally ask for Latvia to be admitted to the Soviet Union, which was finalized in August 1940. He was then made chairman of the Presidium of the
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
(1940?52), and vice-president of the
Latvian Academy of Sciences
(1951-1958).
He died on 3 November 1963 in Riga and was buried at the Rainis Cemetery.
Awards
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External links
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